Optimizing mass transport in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers for efficient hydrogen production

人们越来越一致地认为，我们的社会必须向以可再生能源为基础的经济转型，以避免一场重大的气候灾难。尽管太阳能和风能等可再生能源技术取得了重大进展，但此类能源的间歇性仍然是其广泛采用的最大障碍之一。为了抵消可再生能源的间歇性，它们必须与有效的能源储存方案相结合，在可再生能源脱机时充当备用能源供应。氢气因其多功能性和高能量密度而被广泛认为是一种很有前途的储能工具。在这个方案中，可再生电力被用来通过称为水电解的过程将水电化学转化为氢和氧。然后，氢气被储存起来，并用于按需发电。可再生氢的发展是加拿大承诺到2050年实现净零排放的核心。加拿大准备成为低碳氢气生产的世界领先者，这可能会带来超过500亿美元的国内收入和高达1.9亿吨的二氧化碳减排。一种重要的制氢技术是质子交换膜(PEM)电解槽，它能够在高压下生产纯氢。虽然PEM电解技术自20世纪60年代就已经出现，但它的能源效率必须得到显著提高，才能在大规模的经济中具有竞争力。由于缺乏能够捕捉PEM电解槽内复杂的多组分、多相传输过程的数学模型框架，阻碍了效率提高的进展。拟议项目的目标是开发一个全面的、基于热力学的关于PEM电解槽反应和传输的数学描述，并与德国建立一个PEM电解的长期研究联盟。模型框架和研究联盟将加快下一代电解槽的开发，并有助于保持加拿大和德国在氢气技术方面的全球领先地位。

There has been growing consensus that our society must transition to a renewable energy based economy to avoid a major climate disaster. Despite significant progress in renewable energy technologies such as solar and wind, the intermittency of such energy sources remains one of the biggest roadblocks in their widespread adoption. To offset the intermittency of renewable energy sources, they must be coupled with effective energy storage schemes, which act as backup energy supply when the renewable energy is offline. Hydrogen is widely regarded as a promising vehicle for energy storage due to its versatility and high energy density. In this scheme, renewable electricity is used to power the electrochemical conversion of water to hydrogen and oxygen through a process known as water electrolysis. The hydrogen is then stored and utilized to produce electricity on-demand. The development of renewable hydrogen is central to Canada's commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Canada is primed to become a world leader in low-carbon hydrogen generation, which could lead to more than $50-billion in domestic revenues and up to 190 million tonnes-CO2e reduction in emissions. A prominent technology for hydrogen generation is the proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, which is capable of producing pure hydrogen at high pressures. While PEM electrolysis technology has been around since the 1960s, its energy efficiency must be improved dramatically to become economically competitive at large scales. The progress of efficiency improvement has been hindered by the lack of a mathematical modelling framework capable of capturing the complex multi-component, multiphase transport process inside PEM electrolyzers. The goal of the proposed project is to develop a comprehensive, thermodynamics-based mathematical description of reaction and transport through PEM electrolyzer, and to establish a long-term research consortium on PEM electrolysis with Germany. The modelling framework and the research consortium will accelerate the development of next generation electrolyzers and contribute to maintaining Canada and Germany as global leaders in hydrogen technology.