Smoltek

“Smoltek’s electrodes are a very interesting development for the production of low iridium loading electrodes for PEM electrolyzers,” writes Dr Felix N. Büchi, Group Leader of the Electrochemistry Laboratory at the Paul Scherrer Institute, in the report.

In a PEM electrolyser, there is a thin membrane between the two electrodes. On the side where the oxygen is developed (anode side) it is required to use iridium as a catalyst. Iridium is a rare and very expensive precious metal, and the price is expected to rise to 700,000 euros per kg towards the end of this decade.

With conventional technology, up to 2.0 mg of iridium per cm² is used today, which in 2030 corresponds to a cost of 35 million euros for a 100 MW electrolyzer with a 2,500 m² membrane. Leading competitors have managed to reduce the use to 0.5 mg per cm², which would entail a cost of close to 9 million euros for a 100 MW electrolyzer at an iridium price of 700,000 euros per kg.

However, Smoltek has already reached down to 0.2 mg of iridium per cm² with performance that Dr. Büchi describes as "matches the latest technology" and is aiming for 0.1 mg per cm². This would reduce the cost of a 100 MW electrolyzer to below 2 million euros.

”Doctor Büchi's positive evaluation confirms that our technology can drastically reduce the use of iridium in PEM electrolyzers. With a rapidly rising iridium price, our technology will be a key to cost-effective production of green hydrogen”, says Ellinor Ehrnberg, President of Smoltek Hydrogen AB.

Facts about Dr Felix N. Büchi 
Dr Felix N. Büchi is an internationally recognized expert in electrochemical energy conversion and storage. He leads the fuel cell and electrolyzer group at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland and has published about 50 scientific papers on PEM technology since 2009.

Read the full article on the Büchi report Smoltek’s IR blog.