International electrolyzer manufacturer will evaluate Smoltek’s carbon nanofibers
Smoltek Nanotech Holding AB announces that the group company Smoltek Hydrogen has initiated a collaboration with a company whose extensive build-up of production capacity will make them one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of electrolyzers.
The manufacturer has ordered material samples of Smoltek’s cell material for electrolyzers, which they will integrate with their own technology into complete electrolyzer cells. When the manufacturer has carried out comprehensive tests of the electrolyzer cells, the results will be jointly evaluated.
The group company Smoltek Hydrogen has received an order for a number of test samples of cell material for electrolyzers. The material samples consist of porous titanium that will be coated with Smoltek’s carbon nanofibers and a corrosion protection. This enables the electrolyzer manufacturer to evaluate how the cell material performs in combination with the manufacturer’s other material choices and design. Smoltek’s material is being developed to increase the current density, which is expected to greatly reduce the size and thus the cost of an electrolyzer. In parallel, the amount of iridium is also reduced by at least 80%.
The order for the evaluation was received from one of Europe’s leading electrolyzer manufacturers, which in the coming years will invest in extensive expansion of its production capacity to mass produce electrolyzers.
“With this collaboration, we are now building demonstrators together with one of the leading players in the electrolyzer market. This market is the prerequisite behind the growth of fossil-free hydrogen, and is it now growing at record speed,” says Ellinor Ehrnberg, President of Smoltek Hydrogen.
The manufacturer and Smoltek have agreed to conduct a project together where material from both parties are built together into complete electrolyzer cells in laboratory size, so-called test cells. The manufacturer will then run these test cells according to predetermined protocols. First, the manufacturer will measure the cell’s performance, and then specific test methods will be used to provide an indication of the cell’s lifespan. The results of these measurements will be shared with Smoltek, which will result in large time savings as well as cost savings of several hundred thousand SEK related to the validation of the technology.
“However, the most important thing about this collaboration is that we will learn from each other. By working side by side with electrolyzer manufacturers, we help drive the development of the next generation of electrolyzers forward. This is done with the goal to make the electrolyzers much smaller and cheaper to manufacture,” concludes Ellinor Ehrnberg.
