In this presentation excerpt from All Energy Australia, Endua's Head of Engineering Ben McGruer explains why system efficiency matters when it comes the cost of green hydrogen. He discusses how PEM electrolysis responds to dynamic, intermittent electricity supply while maintaining efficiency across a wide operating range.

In this video

• Why electricity cost makes system efficiency an important consideration for green hydrogen projects

• The operating factors that headline cell and stack efficiency figures can overlook

• How PEM electrolysis produces high-pressure, fuel-cell-grade hydrogen

•  Why rapid response and a wide operating range suit intermittent renewable energy

• Where PEM electrolysis fits alongside alkaline, AEM and solid oxide technologies.

Video transcript

Today, the cost of green hydrogen is dominated by the input cost of electricity, with up to two-thirds of the total project cost being made up by this. And so efficiency is an absolutely key metric.

However, it’s important to make sure that this is system efficiency under real operating conditions. The impact of partial-load operation, start-up and shutdown losses, downstream purification and compression are often overlooked in pursuit of headline cell and stack efficiency numbers.

But PEM technology allows us to deliver high-pressure, fuel-cell-grade hydrogen while maintaining high system-level efficiencies over a very wide operating range.

So where does PEM electrolysis fit? There are a number of different electrolyser technologies that you’ve all heard about: alkaline, AEM, solid oxide and PEM, and they’re all going to have a place to play in different applications.

But we’ve focused on PEM electrolysis for a number of reasons that are important to the markets that we’re interested in.

For hydrogen demand that is driven by decarbonisation, it is critical that the electrolyser can access the cheapest and greenest electricity. This means dynamic and intermittent operation.

And the faster the response and the wider the operating range, the more of that cheap green energy you’re able to capture. These are characteristics that really suit PEM electrolysers.

Explore PEM electrolysis further

Compare the characteristics of PEM, alkaline and AEM electrolysers or learn more about Endua’s PEM electrolyser technology and technical specifications.

If you’re assessing renewable-powered or on-site hydrogen production, talk to our engineering team about your project goals, hydrogen demand and site integration requirements.