Testing of AEL Electrolyzers
The generation of green hydrogen through electrolysis plays an enormous role in the worldwide growth of hydrogen production. The focus is on three different processes: PEM electrolysis, SOEC electrolysis and AEL electrolysis.
Alkaline Electrolysis
Alkaline electrolysis, or AEL for short, is the longest-established form of electrolysis. The market readiness of this technology is a key factor in making green hydrogen viable and thereby replacing fossil fuels. To further expand electrolysis capacities, reliable testing and inspection solutions at the cell, stack, and system levels are essential. With over 20 years of expertise, HORIBA FuelCon is your reliable partner in this field.
HORIBA FuelCon provides you with many years of expertise in reliable testing and inspection solutions. Our work is based on five core values: quality, flexibility, reliability, safety, and automation. Our solutions support the energy transition and enable you to significantly increase your production capacities.
Your benefits at a glance
- Robust components, maximum control precision, and specially developed control algorithms enable the testing of AEL electrolyzers.
- Flexible solutions for specific configurations of media supply, controllable electronic loads, and independent recirculation loops.
- Real-time monitoring of all relevant system parameters and a comprehensive safety assessment ensure worry-free operation.
- Fully automated, unattended testing using HORIBA’s proprietary TESTWORK® automation.
- Customized test solutions tailored to our customers’ requirements.
Working Principle of an Alkaline Electrolyzer
The alkaline electrolyzer splits water into two components – hydrogen and oxygen. The electrolyte is potash lye, which has a concentration of 20 to 40%. Pure water is fed into the cathode of the electrolyzer where it is split by means of a catalyst. Hydrogen is produced directly on the cathode side, whereas the oxygen ions are passed through the alkaline solution and react to form oxygen on the anode side.
State-of-the-art water electrolyzers with alkaline elektrolytes currently boast competitive and better efficiencies than acid PEM water electrolysis due to the material used.
That speaks in favor of AEL electrolyzers
- Advanced technology level
- High long-term stability due to exchangeable electrolyte and lower dissolution of the anodic catalyst
- Low investment costs due to low-cost catalysts
- High gas purity due to lower gas diffusivity in the alkaline electrolyte
- An alkaline electrolyzer is particularly recommended for very large systems
How can we support you?
For PEM and AEL electrolyzers, our product range offers the Evaluator EC and Evaluator ES series, which are immediately ready for high-pressure applications. From a technical standpoint, PEM and AEL electrolysis are so similar that both can be integrated into HORIBA FuelCon test stands. We enable automated testing in the range of up to 5 MW, providing extremely high currents while maintaining low voltages. Our foundation is offering you durable components in combination with reliable safety features.
HORIBA FuelCon is continually optimizing the product solutions we offer. Drawing on our many years of experience with test and production systems for fuel cells and batteries, we can make significant advances in improving your electrolyzers. We gladly incorporate your individual testing requirements into our work. Do you have specific requirements for your AEL electrolyzers? Contact us to discuss them with our project engineers.
Interesting facts:
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