German grid firms look to UK membrane-less electrolysers for hydrogen and oxygen

UK-based membrane-less electrolyser manufacturer Clean Power Hydrogen (CPH2) could deploy up to 175MW worth of its systems with German renewables services provider ABE Gruppe (ABE).

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the pair could examine opportunities for supply, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of CPH2’s technology over the next 10 years.

ABE’s parent company BKW Infra Services Europa (BKW) will also participate in identifying deployments, which CPH2 said could include operations using curtailed wind or solar assets, and industries where hydrogen can improve efficiency.

This could include projects supplying hydrogen and oxygen to applications like wastewater treatment and semiconductor making, which both rely on the high-purity gases.

CPH2’s technology uses fluid dynamics rather than physical membranes to keep hydrogen and oxygen separate, which it claims can help improve operational flexibility when using renewables.

While membrane-less electrolysers offer potential cost savings and flexibility, they are criticised for safety concerns around the mixing of hydrogen and oxygen, which creates a potentially explosive gas mixture.

ABE Managing Director, Daniel Lorenzen, said the technology could allow ABE and BKW to offer their customers a more “reliable, higher purity, lower lifetime” cost of hydrogen and oxygen production.

In January, BKW announced a pivot toward hydrogen-compatible assets, including purchasing 40% of a new hydrogen-capable in Hamm, Germany, where it plans to install a 500MW hydrogen-ready gas unit.

While earlier switching would be incentivised by the German government, the unit would be required to run on 100% hydrogen by 2045 at the latest.

This comes shortly after CPH2 announced the first expected of its technology at a Northern Ireland Water site.

CPH2 recently secured from German technology major, Siemens, and revealed a which could allow US-based Koch Modular to produce and roll out 100MW of its systems in North America.