[ technology news ]
Cipher Neutron reports 94.36 % efficiency for AEM electrolyser stack Cipher Neutron has announced that its R & D department has achieved a 94.36 % efficiency on its Anion Exchange Membrane ( AEM ) electrolyser stack . This advancement promises to significantly reduce the cost of green hydrogen .
With this new level of efficiency , the Canadian company ’ s AEM electrolysers now require only 41.754 kWh to produce 1 kilogram of hydrogen . This figure does not include purification losses , which are typically less than 3 kWh per kilogram . This efficiency is measured at the stack level , considering the high heating value of hydrogen at 39.4 kWh per kilogram . These results were produced under thorough industry-standard analysis and are repeatable , ensuring reliable performance , according to Cipher Neutron .
The company estimates that , when scaled to a 100 MW project and assuming 100 % operational capacity , its AEM electrolyser will produce approximately 3,460 metric tons more hydrogen annually than traditional electrolyser stacks , which typically require 50 kWh of electricity to produce 1 kilogram of hydrogen .
Cipher Neutron ’ s efficiency achievement is the result of several proprietary innovative design and manufacturing advancements , including unique flow fields design , proprietary ink recipe and coating mechanism , advanced cell compression techniques , and zero-gap cell technology .
New GTL composite tubing achieves liquid hydrogen flow in two seconds Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories , Inc . ( GTL ), an aerospace engineering research and development company based in Tullahoma , Tennessee , has announced breakthrough results for its Blended Hybrid Laminate™ ( BHL ) composite technology for cryogenic tubes , pipes , and transfer lines .
NASA has found that when transferring liquid hydrogen ( LH2 ) from a delivery or storage tank to another tank , they lose 50 – 70 % of the hydrogen to boil-off . Some of the biggest refueling challenges include the lengthy cool-down times needed to get LH2 to the fuel tank and wasted fuel due to hydrogen boil-off . Now , first-of-its-kind results from a NASA SBIR program show that GTL ’ s composite tubing can reduce chill-down time , hydrogen boil-off , and the dry mass of cryogenic fluid transfer lines .
GTL first developed BHL technology for cryo-tank applications , but it also works exceptionally well for transfer lines , tubes , and pipes , providing up to ten times lower thermal mass than metal tubing , according to the company . In a recent series of tests , GTL demonstrated the feasibility of these pipes in quickly reaching 20 degrees Kelvin and beginning the flow of liquid hydrogen within two seconds . This means that once integrated into operational systems , an aircraft could fill its LH2 tanks in minutes rather than hours and easily manage the small amount of hydrogen that boils off during fill operations , significantly reducing fuel costs and increasing operational safety .
50 Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 17 | August 2024