Top performance of alkaline electrolysers thanks to innovative stack designs: ENDURE, a 3-year EU-funded project is a pioneering initiative designed to significantly enhance the performance and lifespan of alkaline electrolysers, a vital technology for producing green hydrogen.
The project aims to achieve this by developing novel 3D-structured porous transport electrodes (PTEs) that improve both the electrochemical kinetics and mass transport within electrolysis cells. By replacing costly platinum-group metals (PGMs) with more sustainable materials and incorporating advanced simulation techniques like computational fluid dynamics (CFD), ENDURE is set to deliver high-performing, cost-effective solutions to the hydrogen industry.
Once the prototype stack is developed, its performance will be rigorously tested and validated. ZSW is a leading partner in the ENDURE project with the focus on the advanced testing and accelerated validation procedures for Alkaline Electrolyzers aiming to drastically improve their durability and performance. As part of that, a set of harmonized testing protocols will be developed to evaluate improvements at single cell and stack level. In addition to performance testing, post-mortem analyses will be conducted on used components to understand the degradation mechanisms and further refine future designs.
Moreover, ZSW follows different paths for Zn coating to generate a NiZn alloy at the top layer of the PTEs, these include electroplating, hot dip galvanisation and sintering. The coating processes will be optimized to produce a highly active and well adhering Raney-Nickel surface in a way that is suitable for rapid scale-up and highly efficient mass production also to contribute to the reduction of CAPEX.
Within the ENDURE project a PGM-free alkaline electrolyser stack with PEM-like performance and low degradation rate will be developed.
Coordinator
Stargate Hydrogen Solutions OÜ
Project partners
Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW)
Université Catholique de Louvain
Timeline and Budget
Start: 01/01/2024
Duration: 36 months
Budget: About €2.5 million
Funding entity: Clean Hydrogen Partnership