US start-up backed by Shell, Amazon and Nasa unveils 'first ever industrial-scale AEM electrolyser for low-cost green hydrogen'

Power to Hydrogen (P2H2), based in Ohio, has successfully demonstrated an integrated electrolysis system utilizing its AEM (anion-exchange-membrane) stack at a pilot facility in Columbus, Ohio, with the collaboration of European utilities EDP, E.ON, and ESB. The AEM technology, which is four times larger than any commercially installed stack, exhibited efficient response to load changes, surpassing other renewable load-following products. P2H2's patented AEM electrolyser design boasts higher performance and durability compared to conventional AEM designs.

AEM electrolysers combine the advantages of alkaline and proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) electrolysers, offering rapid response to variable renewable energy inputs without the expensive platinum and iridium requirements of PEM. Although AEM is a relatively new technology, P2H2's success adds to the efforts by market leaders like Enapter, and companies like Sunfire and EvolOH, to establish AEM in the commercial electrolysis landscape.

While P2H2 did not disclose the size of the new electrolyser stack, it revealed plans to develop modules in the "hundreds of kilowatts" range, suggesting they may be 250kW machines. The AEM technology operates at high pressures, eliminating the need for energy-intensive compressors in the balance of plant (BOP), and has achieved system-level efficiencies of 50kWh/kgH2. Notably, the equipment can reach full operating speed within a minute, compared to 50 minutes for alkaline machines and around five minutes for PEM.

P2H2 intends to deploy an industrial-scale pilot focused on enabling a 10MW+ commercial-scale system later this year, with commercial sales targeted for 2026. The company aims to meet the cost target of selling renewable load-following electrolysers for less than $450/kW, positioning its technology competitively against PEM machines priced at $1,000-2,000/kW. The financial backing received from Shell's GameChanger program, utilities, the US Department of Energy's Arpa-E program, and NASA reflects confidence in P2H2's potential, with NASA supporting the development of high-pressure hydrogen and oxygen production for applications on the Moon.