Favorable Start-Up behavior of polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers

Edward Rauls, Michael Hehemann, Roger Keller, Fabian Scheepers, Martin Müller and Detlef Stolten

Applied Energy, 2023, vol. 330, issue PA, No S0306261922016075

Abstract: Dynamically-operated water electrolyzers enable the production of green hydrogen for cross-sector applications while simultaneously stabilizing power grids. In this study, the start-up phase of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers is investigated in the context of intermittent renewable energy sources. During the start-up of the electrolysis system, the temperature increases, which directly influences hydrogen production efficiency. Experiments on a 100kWel electrolyzer, combined with simulations of electrolyzers with up to 1MWel, were used to analyze the start-up phase and assess its implications for operators and system designers. It is shown that part-load start-up at intermediate cell voltages of 1.80 V yields the highest efficiencies of 74.0 %LHV compared to heat-up using resistive electrical heating elements, which reaches maximum efficiencies of 60.9 %LHV. The results further indicate that large-scale electrolyzers with electrical heaters may serve as flexible sinks in electrical grids for durations of up to 15 min.

Keywords: PEM electrolysis; Start-up; Heat-up; Efficiency; System modeling; Dynamic simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.120350

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