Novel electrocatalysts and 3D porous electrodes for efficient alkaline water electrolysis
The increasing interest in novel technologies to stabilize the power grid, and furthermore reduce and neutralize carbon emissions, arouses interest in using electrolytic hydrogen as future fuel and chemical feedstock source. The electrochemical production of hydrogen is based on three different concepts, alkaline water electrolysis (AEC), proton exchange membrane electrolysis (PEM) and solid oxide electrolysis (SOEC). Whilst the PEM and SOEC have been investigated to increase their efficiency, AEC's development has not changed much during the last decades. This is due to the AEC being a well-proven and highly reliable long-term technology, which is commercially available at relatively large scale. Comparing AEC with PEM and SOEC, the AEC is, with respect to its electrical efficiency and hydrogen production rate, outdated. On the other hand, the well-proven long-term stability with comparably low capital investment costs of AEC is an advantage of this technology. However, there is no fundamental scientific reason why the AEC should perform worse than PEM or SOEC. This project aims to achieve new electrode structures with novel electrocatalysts to overcome the shortcomings of AEC and develop an advanced AEC technology at the performance of PEM and above, but at much lower investment capital.