[ industry trends ]
PEM Electrolyser Stack Architecture and Critical Components
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H2O
O2
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Anode half-cell |
Cathode half-cell
H +
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H2 |
Anode half-cell |
Cathode half-cell |
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Repeat cells to build stack |
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Bipolar plate, gold-plated titanium
H2O
Porous Transport Layer
( PTL) Anode, platinium coated porous titanium
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PFSA
Membrane
Anode, Iridium oxide catalyst
Cathode, Platinum catalyst
Membrane Electrode Assembly( MEA)
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Bipolar plate, gold-plated titanium
Porous Transport Layer( PTL) Cathode, carbon cloth
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Porous Transport Layer( PTL) anode, platinum-coated porous titanium
Current distributor anode Gasket
Bipolar plate, gold-plated titanium
Bipolar plate, gold-coated titanium Current distributor cathode
Porous Transport Layer( PTL) cathode, carbon cloth
Gasket Cathode frame
Membrane Electrode Assembly( MEA)
Anode frame
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PEM – Proton Exchange Membrane or Polymer Electrolyte Membrane PTL – Porous Transport Layer MEA – Membrane Electrode Assembly BP or BPP – Bipolar Plate PFSA – Perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer, eg Nafion™ electrochemical reasons. In turn, this reduces the lye recirculation rate, which results in a reduction in the size, cost, and parasitic power draw of balance-of-plant equipment.
Whilst these three players are all working on compelling ideas, there is no guarantee that their innovative technologies, which remain unproven at commercially relevant scale with external customers, will enjoy market success. Investment in demonstration projects may be required, and at the 50-MW scale, this comes with a heavy price tag that only the bigger players can afford.
If investor funding or parent company patience runs out before big orders are signed, these emerging product lines may be cut, or the innovations sold off for others to deploy.
Components are key
Outside of mould-breakers such as Hysata, it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify clear points of difference between KPI performance metrics for many of the‘ standard’ players. Some of the essential KPIs are efficiency, stack life, minimum turn-down, and permissible number of‘ offs’. This technological convergence is especially true when looking at pressurised PEM and pressurised alkaline stacks and systems.
For the few electrolyser builders that will survive, innovative critical components will be in high demand. These will be the differentiators that lead to stack builders having a unique selling proposition.
To ensure stack builders and electrolyser system OEMs continue to stand out in the long term, they may wish to acquire critical component manufacturers that can make a genuine difference to their market offer. Or they may seek to bring emerging component-level technologies in-house through an exclusive licensing agreement to strengthen their competitive position.
Many critical components for electrolysers are based on products that are also relevant to other
20 Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 21 | April 2025