€3.3 Million Power-to-Gas Project to Develop Megawatt-Scale Electrolysers in Germany
10 Jan 2013
The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) is financing a €3.3 million project to develop large-scale next-generation electrolyser technology in Germany. In partnership with the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), SolarFuel and ENERTRAG the group plans to develop 300 kW alkaline electrolysers using stacks which could eventually be used in megawatt-scale installations. ZSW recently commissioned a 250 kW power-to-gas project in Stuttgart using alkaline electrolysers and this larger facility is planned for the same location.
The next-generation electrolyser stack will contain around 70 cells with increased surface area and gas production capability. This means the new technology will be more compact than previous iterations. At the same time the partners are continually striving to reduce costs.
Once the hydrogen has been produced it passes through a methanisation process. The resulting methane can be injected directly into the natural gas grid, thus allowing for renewable energy storage on a timescale of months or more. The gas contributes to decarbonising the grid, and can be used for electricity generation or to fuel natural gas vehicles.
Source: ZSW (in German).
Image: Adapted and translated from ZSW.
ShareThis
Receive emails
Sign up using the 'Register' button at the top of the page.
Applications
Our Using Fuel Cells In series of info sheets highlights applications where fuel cells offer benefits today.
Glossary
View our
glossary of terms.
Contact Us
If you would like to contact us, please click here.