Source: Energy & Management Powernews, January 10, 2022
The German government is funding the Dresden-based electrolysis manufacturer Sunfire with a total of 60 million euros. More than half are to flow into the further development of the solid oxide electrolysis process.
The pressure to expand electrolysis capacity is great: in the EU, the installed electrolysis capacity is to grow from the current 200 MW to 40,000 MW by 2030. Sunfire wants to jump on this bandwagon and rapidly expand its production capacities.
In doing so, the Saxon company is relying on two electrolysis processes that it wants to transfer to series production with the help of the federal government's financial injection: firstly, high-temperature electrolysis (SOEC - solid oxide electrolyzer cell) and pressure alkali electrolysis. In both processes, the company is working together with partners from industry and research as part of the "H2Giga" lead project.
Potential for improvement in the durability and design of the processes
Sunfire wants to invest 33 million euros from the 60-million-euro federal funding pot in the market ramp-up of SOEC electrolysis. This is a solid oxide electrolysis process in which hydrogen is extracted from water at high temperatures. Because this process uses waste heat from industrial processes, it is particularly energy-efficient, according to Sunfire: as the company states, up to 30% less electricity from renewable sources is required to produce one kilogram of hydrogen compared to other electrolysis processes.
"Among other things, we will make the individual components more durable and simplify the design of the systems," explains Christian von Olshausen, CTO of Sunfire. With the further optimized high-temperature electrolysers, it should be possible to produce green hydrogen even more efficiently and cost-effectively in the future. Together with Xenon Automatisierungstechnik GmbH, Sunfire is also working on a pilot line for the automated production of the high-temperature electrolysers.
27 million of the total 60 million euros are available to Sunfire and its alliance partners for the industrialization of the second electrolysis process - pressure alkali electrolysis. Although this process has proven itself in industry for decades, it has not yet been mass-produced, Sunfire says. The company sees potential for improvement in energy consumption and durability. According to von Olshausen, the company also wants to establish manufacturing processes in this area and implement a new design for the pressurized alkaline electrolyzers. Known as the most cost-effective electrolysis technology, alkali electrolysis should thus become even more attractive.
Find more information about Sunfire GmbH's SOEC electrolysis process here.
Author: Davina Spohn