There is no doubt that green hydrogen is an energy carrier that will make a decisive contribution to the sustainable transformation. However, the technology currently still faces major hurdles such as a lack of efficiency, high costs and a lack of longevity. At Hydrogenea, you are working on these challenges by developing fuel and electrolysis cells with greater durability and efficiency. Your production facility is currently being commissioned and the inauguration will take place in November this year. Thank you for taking the time to give our readers an insight into your work.
Hello Marvin, how exactly do you improve the efficiency of the fuel and electrolysis cells?
Hello and thank you for the invitation! The three factors you have just mentioned are absolutely correct and influence each other. The greatest costs arise in the catalyser layer due to the (precious) metals used and the processes applied.
Our solution is based on a combination of two innovations: Firstly, we use new types of materials as catalyst carriers, which we develop and produce ourselves. We modify the materials so that they corrode much more slowly or wear out less than state-of-the-art materials and have additional properties that are of crucial importance, such as high electrical conductivity. As a result, we can increase the durability of the cells by a factor of up to 10.
Secondly, we do not apply the active material in the traditional chemical way, but instead pursue an electrochemical or galvanic approach. We were the first to apply this to a continuous roll-to-roll process and have also patented it. The advantage of this is that, on the one hand, we have considerably more freedom in the individualisation of the cells and can therefore create completely new business cases. On the other hand, a very active surface is created with which efficiency increases of up to 20% are possible in the system.
For which sectors is your technology particularly interesting? What are the advantages for users when using your coating system?
Our innovation is based on experience from the automotive sector, where our CEO and co-founder Dr Pit Y. Podleschny has been able to drive forward the development of our product for many years. Our solutions are therefore particularly attractive for applications in this sector. This is due to the improved durability and enables operating times, especially in the heavy-duty sector (lorries, ships, trains, etc.), which, in combination with lower overall operating costs, can make hydrogen a real alternative there.
Durability also plays an important role in the electrolysis sector. However, increases in efficiency are also important there, as more hydrogen can be produced with the same amount of electricity, making the realisation of new electrolysis plants more attractive per se.
Your production plant is currently being put into operation. What are the next steps for you?
The commissioning of our plant is a major milestone that we are naturally very proud of. Our next step is to expand the team in order to meet the increased demand in the best possible way. We are therefore looking for someone who can support us in the area of continuous production and production upscaling.
We are also in constant dialogue with partners in order to realise further pilot projects. What we have learnt so far is that our technology opens up completely new business cases that were previously inaccessible due to technical or economic factors. We are therefore firmly convinced that we can contribute to accelerating the development and use of green hydrogen in Bavaria as well.
Is there anything else you would like to pass on to our readers?
Hydrogen harbours huge potential for Germany to remain one of the leading industrial locations in the future. It is therefore necessary to create the framework conditions for this at an early stage. This is especially true in times when companies are increasingly withdrawing from Germany. Bavaria has laid a good foundation for this with its Hydrogen Strategy 2.0 and has already established and successfully promoted several successful companies from the industry here.
We are motivated to work with new partners and all interested parties on a sustainable future and to jointly develop new and sustainable solutions and establish them across a broad spectrum.
We would therefore like to cordially invite you and your readership to our inauguration at the end of November in Gelsenkirchen. If you are interested, simply send a short e-mail to info@hydrogenea.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Thank you very much for the exciting insights and the invitation, we wish you continued success!
At Hydrogenea, Marvin Hodde takes on the role of Business Development Manager. In addition to evaluating and implementing all (potential) business and corporate activities, this primarily includes commercial tasks, establishing and maintaining relationships and implementing the corporate strategy.
