Novel alkaline electrolyser with optimized micro-patterned electrodes for efficient ultra-low cost hydrogen

**挑战：**到目前为止，氢气生产成本太高。目前，市场上96%的灰氢(指由天然气或甲烷产生的氢气，不捕捉温室气体)造成了8.3亿吨二氧化碳的排放。蓝氢是不可替代的，因为它基本上与灰氢相同，只是有碳捕获。事实上，捕获二氧化碳非常昂贵，而且供应链上还有甲烷泄漏的问题。绿色氢气，即可再生能源生产的氢气，目前的价格约为50美元/公斤。这一奖项需要降至第三名，才能使其成为有效的能源。在伊吉诺斯，我们的目标是使绿色氢气成为最可行和最具竞争力的技术。我们正在采取自上而下的方法来实现这一目标，到2025年达到1.5美元/公斤。由于我们面对的是一个竞争非常激烈的市场，我们的技术将迅速商业化。该项目与英国到2030年实现5GW低碳氢能产能的净零战略完美地结合在一起。这也将提升英国作为氢气生产国的地位。**创新：**在这个项目中，我们将为我们的4kW电解槽原型的电极开发一种新的表面增强技术。增强的电极将提高水解液电池的效率和耐用性。这将在节省成本的同时提供更高的氢气产量。它将改进我们产品的组成部分，电解槽本身。这个项目的好处是将破坏性制造工具(软工具)与新的设计结合在一起，这种设计可以超越目前市场上可用的(由贵金属制成或通过昂贵的制造技术实现的)。我们的首席科学家专门通过电镀为热交换器市场开发微结构，该市场的利润率非常低，必须通过可扩展的连续制造将成本保持在最低水平。在他的博士论文期间，他开发了许多用于制氢过程的电催化剂。这两个经历导致了成立伊吉诺斯有限公司的下一个合乎逻辑的步骤，该公司以独特的方法开发新型电解槽。这个由赠款资助的项目将为我们提供进一步发展我们的技术和加快商业化的机会。

**Challenge:**So far hydrogen production is too expensive. Currently the market is served by 96% grey hydrogen (meaning H2 created by natural gas or methane, without capturing greenhouse gases) which is responsible for 830M Tonnes of CO2 emissions. Blue hydrogen is no alternative since it is basically the same as grey hydrogen, just with carbon capturing. In reality CO2 capture is very expensive and has the added problem of methane leakage along the supply chain.Green hydrogen, meaning hydrogen produced by renewable energy sources, is currently prized at around 5US$/kg. This prize needs to come down to a third in order to make it an effective energy source. At Electrogenos we aim to make green hydrogen the most viable and competitive technology. We are taking a top-down approach to achieve that goal with < 1.5$/Kg by 2025\. Because we are dealing with a very competitive market our technology is set for rapid commercialization.This project aligns perfectly with the UK's 'Net Zero' strategy of 5GW of low carbon hydrogen capacity by 2030\. It would also boost the UK's position as hydrogen producing nation.**Innovation:**In this project we will develop a novel surface enhancement technique for the electrodes of our 4kW electrolyser prototype. The enhanced electrodes will boost efficiency and durability of the hydrolyser cell. This will provide a higher output of hydrogen while saving costs. It will improve the integral part of our product, the electrolyser cell itself.This project has the benefit of coupling disruptive manufacturing tools (soft tools) with a novel design that can outperform what is now available on the market (being made of precious metals or achieved through expensive manufacturing techniques).Our chief scientist is specialized in developing microstructures via electroplating for the heat-exchanger market which has very tight profit margins and keeping costs to a minimum through scalable continuous manufacturing is a must. During his PhD thesis he developed many electrocatalysts for hydrogen production processes. Both experiences led to the next logical step in founding Electrogenos Ltd with its unique approach to develop novel electrolyser cells. This grant funded project would offer us the opportunity to further our technology and speed up commercialization.