Electrolysis stacks and pilot systems: Research and development services for your process and stack development

There is currently growing interest in electrolysis processes in the energy and chemical industries. Background: On the one hand, with a view to the energy transition and the transformation to climate neutrality, the EU has set itself the goal of producing 10 million tons of hydrogen annually by 2030 and importing a further 10 million tons. On the other hand, there is a growing need in the chemical industry to make processes more sustainable by integrating renewable energies and electrochemical processes. Examples include the conversion of _CO₂into basic chemicals, the electrochemical processing of biogenic raw materials into specialty products, and selective oxidation and reduction reactions in commodity and specialty chemicals.

Those who rely on membrane-based electrolysis stacks for hydrogen production, CO₂conversion, and electroorganic synthesis face a number of challenges:

• Optimal fluid dynamic distribution of process media and electrolytes to increase electrolysis efficiency
• Precise mechanical clamping of the electrolysis stack for homogeneous compression of the active components
• Development of cost-effective and reliable sealing concepts
• Integration of innovative components (electrodes, membranes, bipolar plates) into scalable and production-ready cell and stack concepts, as well as their process integration
• Validation of components under technically relevant conditions for various electrolysis processes
• Provision of valid data for evaluating the economic and technical feasibility of new electrolysis processes
• Transfer of new process concepts to industrial scale and overcoming scaling challenges
• Qualification of material compatibility with regard to chemical, electrochemical, and mechanical degradation in different electrochemical environments
• Limited or lack of testing capacities for validating your own products

Fraunhofer UMSICHT offers you comprehensive research and development services along the entire value chain of electrolysis technology:

• Development of sealed and welded cell and stack concepts, prototype manufacturing according to your requirements
• Fluid dynamic optimization to increase efficiency and improve heat management
• Mechanical design and validation of electrolysis cells and stacks
• Testing and validation of components, cells, and stacks for various electrolysis technologies up to the kilowatt scale
• Evaluation of the technical and economic feasibility of new concepts and processes

With Fraunhofer UMSICHT, you gain an experienced partner who will accompany you from the initial idea to successful implementation. We can support you in the following areas:

• Conducting technology studies, feasibility and economic analyses for electrolysis processes and their alternatives
• Fluid dynamic and mechanical design, construction, and prototype production of electrolysis cells and stacks
• Validation of components, cells, and stacks through contract measurements for different electrolysis technologies
• Evaluation and process modeling of electrochemical cells and stacks in a process engineering context
• Analysis of existing electrolyzer designs and development of potential improvements in terms of efficiency and economic viability
• Investigation of degradation phenomena in cells and stacks and derivation of accelerated degradation protocols
• Provision of test hardware and training on testing practices

Closing the carbon cycle: challenges and opportunities of CO₂ electrolyser designs in light of cross-industrial CO₂ source-sink matching in the European landscape | Energy & Environmental Science

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Perspective Nature Communications: Accelerating CO₂ electrochemical conversion towards industrial implementation | Nature Communications

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Differential pressure CO₂ electrolysis opens the way for direct coupling to industrial processes | ScienceDirect

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P2X platform – Test platform for conversion technologies and their interaction for sector coupling | vgbe energy journal

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