New Routes to Large Surface Area Sinters for Rapid Response Electrolysers

The active area of PEM electrolyser cells influences current draw, hydrogen production and electrical load capacity. The current largest cell area that can be achieved is solely dictated by the current availability of metal sintered parts. There are significant advantages to be had from utilising larger area electrolyser cells including greater hydrogen generation capacity with reduced integration and control requirements making for a more cost-effective solution and a larger electrical load to be packaged in a smaller system. The project will investigate novel sintered titanium structures for use as large (>1000cm2), electrically conductive liquid diffusion layers for incorporation into rapid response, high-performance polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysers used for the production of hydrogen for clean fuels and energy storage. Evaluating the performance of large sinters will inform the design of ITM's next generation high performance electrolyser stacks.