Chemical Engineering July 2022 - 9

'Symbiotic' electrolyzer runs on waste heat
H2 GAS TURBINE
A
new steam-fed electrolyzer aims to
bridge the gap between liquid-water
electrolyzers, many of which require
exotic materials and intricate membranes,
and solid-oxide electrolyzers, which
require superheated steam and temperatures
as high as 800°C. This 'symbiotic' electrolyzer,
developed by Advanced Ionics (Milwaukee,
Wis.; www.advanced-ionics.com),
is designed for operation at intermediate
temperatures, so it can utilize onsite process
and waste heat at temperatures of 100°C and
up. " We don't think there has been another
electrolyzer specifically developed to operate
at typical industrial heat temperatures,
which enables close synergy with industrial
processes that use H2, " says Chad Mason,
CEO and founder of Advanced Ionics. The
ability to operate with steam and tap into
existing process heat can reduce the electricity
expenditure to as low as 30-35 kWh
per kg of H2, whereas other electrolyzer configurations
typically require 40-50 kWh/kg.
The efficiency gains from using existing process
heat means that the electrolyzers are
suitable for installation both within existing
plants and for greenfield construction. " We
know there are sites that do not want to
wholesale switch out their steam methane
reformer, but they might need to add 10 to
20% green H2 to capture some incentives, or
mitigate carbon taxes. We can provide those
marginal capacity additions to append onto
an existing installation, " says Mason.
" And in a greenfield ammonia plant, for
instance, the Advanced Ionics electrolyzers
could take that the steam off of the HaberBosch
reactor and from some of the other
heat-generating locations at the site. We're
designing the units to work with many thermal-transfer
mediums, " he adds.
Advanced Ionics' electrolyzer is constructed
mainly of commodity materials, such as stainless
steel. " We don't use any platinum-group
metals or perfluorinated membranes, so from
a cost and supply chain perspective, as well
as recyclability, it's a very friendly architecture, "
explains Mason. And unlike other electrolyzers,
no deionized water is required - the steam
feed just undergoes reverse osmosis. Thus far,
the electrolyzer has been operated at the laboratory
scale, but a scaleup endeavor is underway,
with the expectation that gigawatt-scale
capacity could be achievable in five years. n
Researchers at the University
of Stavanger (UiS;
Norway; www.uis.no) operate
a micro gas plant in
south-west Norway. The
gas turbine produces
both heat and electricity,
and supplies water for
heating the laboratory
buildings in the immediate
area. In addition, surplus
energy is supplied
to power provider Lyse's
district heating and electricity
grids.
The researchers have
been developing a
method for using pure H2
as fuel in the gas turbine.
In mid-May 2022, an important
milestone was
reached - the researchers
started running the
turbine on 100% H2. The
micro gas-turbine plant
is a collaboration with the
German Aerospace Center
(Cologne; www.dlr.
de), which provided the
combustion chamber. ❐
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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
JULY 2022
9

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Chemical Engineering July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering July 2022