Canadian hydrogen technology company Hydrogen Optimized announced a successful demonstration of a 50,000 amp version of its Ruggedcell water electrolyser in late October. The breakthrough provides a direct pathway towards commercialisation of large-scale green hydrogen production technology, as single electrolysis units can be sized at 100MW and potentially even larger than that in the future. 

The Ruggedcell is a unipolar design based on the ‘Stuart Cell’, developed by the grandfather of Andrew Stuart, president and CEO of Hydrogen Optimized, in 1913. This original design—unlike the bipolar design used by alkaline and proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers, allows for larger volumes of production. To learn more, Hydrogen Economist talked to Stuart about the technology.

Can you please explain the importance of the successful Ruggedcell demonstration?

“We have begun development of the first phase of our manufacturing process”

Stuart: The amount of green hydrogen produced by the water electrolysis process depends on the amount of current passed through the cell. The unipolar architecture of the Ruggedcell allows for high current through a single cell. High current with a large number of cells leads to high power. Bipolar water electrolysers such as alkaline and PEM are simply not designed to handle this sort of power. Our 50,000 amp Ruggedcell replicated by 1,000 units would provide a 100MW single module. 

When do you foresee commercialising a 100MW Ruggedcell unipolar electrolyser?

Stuart: At present we seek to pilot 10-20MW versions of the Ruggedcell modules, with the goal of commercialising this in the next 12 months. Based on research by Aurora Energy Research, a leading power analytics provider in Europe, our 100MW version should be coming to market around the same time that large-scale users of green hydrogen, including the largest chemical, industrial, and heavy-duty transportation users, will be in the market for low-cost high-output electrolysers such as ours—towards the middle of the decade.

What are the major obstacles you must overcome to scale the Ruggedcell up to 100MW?

Stuart: Once the filter press for 50,000 amp versions of the Ruggedcell are working well, it will not be that difficult to ramp up towards 100MW. Future scaling of the amps and power of a single module is achieved by expanding the size of the cell. The Ruggedcell has been developed with three inter-related principles in mind—lowest-possible cost, scalability and capability of high-volume manufacturing. 

What cost savings are you targeting on a percentage basis compared with low-power bipolar alkaline and PEM electrolysers to produce the same amount of green hydrogen?

Stuart: That is tough to say, given that all three technologies are rapidly moving targets. But the Ruggedcell will have significantly lower costs than the others for three major reasons. Our high current unipolar cells use a low-cost, non-platinum group metal catalyst, whereas bipolar alkaline and PEM electrolysers both require expensive platinum-based catalysts. Since the Ruggedcell is relatively easy to scale up, it will benefit from economies of scale that will elude other technologies. And the simplicity of our technology will save money on the electrical substation feeding power to the cell.

At what stage of development is your Ruggedcell manufacturing facility in Owen Sound, Ontario?

100MW – Size of single module

Stuart: Since taking possession of the manufacturing facility in May, we have begun development of the first phase of our manufacturing process. This includes hand assembly of the 50,000 amp Ruggedcell, while sourcing semi-finished parts from external contractors. Phase two will see us scale up and mechanise the manufacturing process, with all parts for the Ruggedcell produced internally from raw materials to further slash costs.

And, finally, how are you planning to market the Ruggedcell?

Stuart: Once we have further refined our technology at scale and the manufacturing process, we will implement a hybrid system to market the Ruggedcell electrolyser. Customers around the world will be able to purchase Ruggedcells produced at our Owen Sound facility, or if they have substantial demand, we are willing to form joint ventures to construct Ruggedcell manufacturing plants elsewhere in the world. Key drivers for the latter could be size of potential market or simply domestic content requirements.

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Author: Vincent Lauerman