Posted on 17 Nov 2022
Nel Hydrogen US has teamed up with General Motors to accelerate the industrialisation of its proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser platform through the carmaker’s fuel cell technology expertise.
The deal announced on Wednesday is aimed at enabling more competitive sources of renewable hydrogen compared to fossil fuels. The companies expect substantial synergies by transferring GM’s HYDROTEC fuel cell IP to Nel’s PEM platform.
For that, Nel will compensate GM on an ongoing basis and pay a licence after successful commercialisation, dependent on how much of the end product is based on GM’s technology, Kallanish learns.
“General Motors is one of the global leaders in hydrogen fuel cell propulsion with more than 50 years of experience. We believe this collaboration will give us a competitive advantage in industrialising the production of our PEM electrolysers and further improve the efficiency of our technology,” comments Nel’s ceo Håkon Volldal.
Through HYDROTEC, the US carmaker has been developing fuel cell solutions for a range of industries including freight trucking, aerospace, power generation, and locomotive. The strategic collaboration with Nel will help the company to commercialise its fuel cell technology, while getting the Norwegian firm closer to scale, according to Charles Freese, GM director, Global HYDROTEC.
The companies note that a PEM electrolyser and a fuel cell are largely based on the same principles. The electrolyser uses electricity and water to produce hydrogen and oxygen, while a fuel cell reverses the process, using hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water.
Nel says it’s the first company in the world with a fully automated alkaline electrolyser production line, and now is working to do the same with its PEM electrolyser technology.
“An automated production concept is key when scaling up and driving down cost of electrolyser technology,” notes Volldal.
Source:Kallanish
