Improving Manufacturing Processes To Reduce Hydrogen Production Costs

NREL partners with industry and national laboratories to conduct research to optimize roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing for low-cost water electrolyzers.

Nel Hydrogen has partnered with NREL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory to investigate R2R manufacturing for advanced electrolysis electrodes. The goal of the project is to develop coating processes to directly coat electrodes on membranes. To achieve this, the project team compares results in the following areas:

Ink characterization and optimization
R2R coating
Advanced electrode characterization
Metrology development capabilities.

NREL performs ink characterization and optimization, R2R coating experiments, and develops metrology capabilities; Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducts R2R coating experiments; and Argonne National Laboratory performs advanced electrode characterization.

This work supports the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office and Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office’s overall goal to reduce the manufacturing labor and cost for water electrolyzer manufacturing.

Impact

The purpose of this project is to show the feasibility for electrode cost reduction through improved manufacturing processes and material utilization.

NREL’s extensive ink characterization and optimization research provides Nel Hydrogen with data that can inform decisions to reduce potential risk and increase cost savings while highlighting the benefits of collaboration between industry and the national laboratories.

Once validated, these efforts could result in more affordable hydrogen production via proton exchange membrane electrolysis by substantially reducing the anode precious metal content and catalyst-coated membrane processing costs.