Hydrogen production equipment diversified hydrogen production system is forming
According to incomplete statistics, a total of 30 domestic hydrogen production projects were invested in Q1 2023, 40% of the annual 2022, of which the number of electrolytic water hydrogen production projects accounted for 90%. It is expected that the shipments of electrolytic tanks will double from 2022 to 2023, and the domestic shipments of electrolytic tank equipment will reach 15GW from 2023 to 2025.
There are four electrolytic water technologies in the industry, namely ALK, PEM, AEM and SOEC, of which SOEC is a high-temperature electrolysis, where water vapor is electrolyzed, and the other three technologies are low-temperature electrolysis, where liquid water is electrolyzed.
"Within these four technologies, alkaline water bath and PEM bath are commercialized. The alkaline water tank is characterized by a more mature technology and lower cost; the PEM tank has a wider load range and better flexibility for coupling with renewable energy, but the cost is higher. Considering factors such as cost and reliability, large-scale hydrogen production in China will still choose alkaline electrolyzer for some time."
Some key technologies of large-scale hydrogen production system include: high current density, low energy consumption and large gas production monolithic electrolyzer technology; large-scale gas-liquid separation system design; large-capacity DC power system design to match the fluctuating power grid of new energy; energy management system and automation control strategy to adapt to fluctuating power conditions; large-scale hydrogen and oxygen purification technology, etc. The large-scale development of alkaline electrolyzer needs to find a balance in improving efficiency, durability and cost reduction, which requires the synergistic progress of related technologies.
The call for the development of PEM electrolyzer has continued to grow in recent years. "We firmly believe that PEM and scenic energy have a high degree of coupling, so we also firmly believe that PEM will have a certain amount of weight in the future market of hydrogen production by water electrolysis, and we predict that it is possible to reach a level of parity with alkaline water electrolysis in about 2030.
As a leader, Saxxis has already upgraded the membrane electrode preparation process, iterated the design of electrode plate and sealing layer to achieve full-stack independent control technology, and continuously promoted the PEM electrolyzer to improve the current density and hydrogen production volume to achieve rapid cost reduction, which is expected to reduce the cost of PEM hydrogen production equipment by about It is expected that the cost of PEM hydrogen production equipment can be reduced by about 40% by 2030.
AEM is considered the third generation of water electrolysis technology after ALK and PEM, and has been operating commercially in Europe and the US for many years. It works in a weak alkaline environment and uses cheap non-precious metal catalysts and hydrocarbon membranes, and is characterized by simpler system design, flexible response, high hydrogen production efficiency and high hydrogen purity.
With the efforts of participating enterprises, the market pattern of diversified electrolytic water hydrogen production equipment represented by ALK, PEM, AEM, SOEC, etc. in China is taking shape, while methanol hydrogen production equipment is being applied in specific scenarios.