Improved electrolysis for Off-grid Hydrogen production

Proposals must address the following objectives:

• Development of off-grid electrolysers (alkaline or PEM technology) optimized at component and system levels, supplied by renewable energy sources - RE (e.g. solar PV and small wind energy), achieving MAWP 2017 target for electrolyser systems of 6M€/tpd capacity, high efficiency consistent with MAWP targets (<55kWh/kg by 2017 for electrolyser systems), high annual hydrogen yield and capacity factor with respect to the RE considering the constraints of dynamic operation
• Development of power conversion and balance-of-plant hardware adapted to operate electrolysers in variable power mode, necessary for the off-grid system to perform efficiently, taking into account system topology (DC-DC, AC-DC, etc.) and grid constraints
• Development of a control system with the capability of smart integration in off-grid installations and RE generation forecasting
• In-field testing in relevant environment (TRL 6) is requi

  It is estimated that 1.2 billion people will be without electricity access globally by 2025. A further 1 billion people are connected to unstable networks and are regularly exposed to power outages. It may thus be considered that 2.4 billion people (i.e. around 35% of the global population) are “under electrified”.

  When the connection of a major distribution network to the transport network is not a feasible option from a technical and economic perspective, onsite energy is generated off-grid.

  Islands are particularly concerned by this type of situation. Indeed, electricity generation there is guaranteed by diesel generating units, despite their high production costs and pollutant emissions simply due to the absence of simple and feasible alternatives.

  This is a significant market, part of which is represented by installed diesel production capacity of 600GW, whose half is installed on off-grid sites.

  Hydrogen is envisioned as a potential solution for completely off-gri

  • Electrolyser efficiency consistent with MAWP targets by 2017 for electrolyser systems (<55kWh/kg), when converted from solar or wind power to hydrogen (with respect to Lower Heating Value - LHV)
  • Design to integrate solar and/or wind resources
  • Address business cases and applications where the specific off grid approach may have a significant impact
  • As reported in the MAWP, target KPIs on cost per nominal power for alkaline and PEM electrolysers will be considered