Smoltek produces hydrogen with only 0.1 mg of iridium per cm²

 

Smoltek Nanotech Holding AB has developed a porous transport electrode (PTE) that reduces the amount of iridium catalyst in PEM electrolyzers to a minimum of 0.1 mg/cm² – the level considered necessary to make large-scale production of PEM electrolyzers profitable.

 

The reduction represents a 95% reduction in iridium compared to conventional PEM electrolyzers, which addresses the major challenge that the overuse of iridium poses to the hydrogen industry.

 

“We are incredibly pleased that we have so quickly reached our goal of producing hydrogen with only 0.1 mg of iridium per square centimeter,” said Ellinor Ehrnberg, President of Smoltek Hydrogen. “We are the only ones to achieve this without compromising performance and have thereby addressed one of the hydrogen industry’s biggest technical challenges – the limited availability of iridium, which has so far been an obstacle to large-scale manufacturing of PEM electrolyzers.”

 

In a durability test over 250 hours of continuous operation (at 2 A/cm²), Smoltek Hydrogen’s PTE produced hydrogen with a catalyst loading of only 0.1 mg iridium/cm² – without any degradation to the nanostructure of the electrolyzer cell. The test results demonstrate that the company’s anode electrode technology is durable and efficient, while reducing iridium usage by 95% compared to conventional technology.

 

Fabian Wenger, Head of R&D at Smoltek Hydrogen, commented: “This test showed the same results as the 1,000-hour durability test we carried out in April 2024, but now with half the amount of iridium. When we saw that the cell performance was equivalent at both 0.1 mg and 0.2 mg iridium, we chose to discontinue the test and focus development on other parts of the PTE technology for the next longer durability test.”

 

Source:  Hydrogentechworld