Repsol and the American Power to Hydrogen (P2H2) have completed a pilot test to verify the performance of the hybrid anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolysis technology of the latter, aimed at the production of renewable hydrogen on a large scale.
The project, carried out through Repsol’s All4Zero industrial innovation hub, analyzed for more than 1,250 hours a commercial stack of AEM electrolyzers from P2H2, subjected to performance, durability, and operation tests with different load profiles.
According to both companies, the results obtained exceeded the initial objectives in terms of efficiency, flexibility, and lifespan, and point to a system durability of over 50,000 hours, between five and ten times above current standards in the AEM electrolysis industry.
The validation was carried out with a short stack formed by five commercial cells and recorded an irreversible degradation of 2 millivolts per kiloampere-hour during the 1,250 hours of operation, maintaining an almost stable average cell voltage from start to finish of the tests.
In addition, the system achieved a hydrogen purity of up to 99.9% directly from the stack, with an operating pressure of 30 bars, and showed stable behavior across the entire operating range, between two and 30 bars.
Operation with renewables and ultrafast response
The All4Zero protocol contemplated repeated load cycles between 40% and 100%, variable operating profiles based on real conditions, and pressure tests, with the aim of evaluating the electrolyzer’s ability to work reliably alongside intermittent renewable sources.
P2H2 emphasized that its technology provides a response to load changes of less than 50 milliseconds and uses a material route without iridium or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), two elements with which it aims to reduce both investment costs and dependence on critical raw materials compared to conventional proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis systems.
Reduction of the cost of renewable hydrogen
According to the estimates of P2H2, developed from specific data from Repsol and the H2A-Lite framework of the United States Department of Energy, their technology could place the levelized cost of hydrogen production at about $3.86 per kilogram, around 16% less than conventional electrolyzers.
In optimized scenarios of renewable supply through hybrid power purchase agreements (PPAs), the cost could be reduced to approximately $2.82 per kilogram, according to the company.
Next phase: projects of up to 1 MW
After the good results of the pilot, Repsol and P2H2 are now analyzing the development of a larger-scale demonstration, between 500 kilowatts and one megawatt of power, as a preliminary step to a possible industrial deployment.
This action is part of Repsol’s goal to reach between 600 and 800 megawatts of renewable hydrogen production capacity by 2030.
P2H2, for its part, noted that it is already deploying systems of this power in projects in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and in collaboration with the technology center Sintef in Norway.
