Breakthrough in high-pressure hydrogen technology

Citation

(2009), "Breakthrough in high-pressure hydrogen technology", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 81 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2009.12781eaf.005

Breakthrough in high-pressure hydrogen technology

Article Type: Mini features From: Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal, Volume 81, Issue 5

Proton energy systems recently announced a major technological milestone involving its advanced high pressure, proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis technology. Proton has demonstrated more than 18,000 h of hydrogen generation at 2,400 psi, without any external mechanical compression. The ability to produce hydrogen at elevated pressure will help reduce the hydrogen storage footprint in applications where space is a premium.

Additionally, producing high-pressure hydrogen without generating high-pressure oxygen provides a safer, more cost effective on-site hydrogen solution. The elimination of a mechanical compressor in the system makes it possible to reduce the overall capital cost and operating cost of the installation. Proton's commercial PEM-based hydrogen generation systems are capable of running continuously at up to 400 psi and typically require external mechanical compression to achieve higher pressures. The advancement in PEM based, high-pressure electrolysis marks a breakthrough that will have far-reaching implications for current and future applications across a broad spectrum of markets.

Proton is the world's leading supplier of onset hydrogen generators utilising PEM technology, which creates high-purity hydrogen from de-mineralised water and electricity. Proton's PEM electrolysis systems are utilised across a variety of industries, including power, military and aerospace and laboratories. And, with this latest advancement, the company continues to lead the market in hydrogen innovation.

“We are thrilled to announce this technological milestone in PEM technology, which has a variety of significant implications, including better efficiency, cost reduction potential and system simplification”, said Everett Anderson, Director of Technology at Proton Energy Systems. “Our mission at Proton Energy is to continue to develop and apply hydrogen technology in creative and practical ways, and ultimately these advances will translate into even better reliability, durability and value for our customers.”

Proton has successfully developed and deployed these high-pressure systems to strategic partners both domestically and internationally for evaluation, one of which has been testing successfully for more than a year. With the ability to increase durability, reliability and efficiency, this breakthrough has major potential across industries – including power, military, aerospace, homeland security and other sectors that require or could benefit from high-pressure hydrogen.

The 2,400 psi milestone was achieved while at the same time also increasing the hydrogen production by a factor of four from previous high-pressure hydrogen generation systems. The 2,400 psi advancement is also in line with proton's ultimate goal of generating hydrogen at 5,000 psi, without external mechanical compression and with the same reliability and durability.

Proton energy has also announced a second technological breakthrough that has major efficiency and cost savings implications. Proton has worked to achieve a 20 per cent improvement in efficiency of its commercial PEM platform. At the same time, additional efforts aimed at cost reduction of the cell stack membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) have netted almost a 30 per cent savings in material cost. This is significant because the MEA represents the single highest cost component within the electrochemical stack.

For further details, please contact: Proton Energy Systems. Tel.: +1 203 678 2185.