German electrolyser manufacturer Sunfire has received a €60mn ($68mn) grant from the German government as part of the H2Giga technology project.

H2Giga is a state scheme aimed at accelerating the production of electrolysers. Established manufacturers, component suppliers, research institutions and universities are participating in the project.

The funding will be used to accelerate the commercialisation of high-temperature solid-oxide electrolysers (SOEs) and to further develop alkaline electrolysers (AE) to operate at larger scales.

SOE and anion-exchange-membrane electrolyser technologies are seen as the two main rivals to the more established proton-exchange-membrane and AE systems for the production of green hydrogen. The fact they operate at high temperatures means SOE cells are significantly more efficient: Sunfire claims they can reduce electricity use by 30pc over more established technologies.

“We will redesign individual components to last longer” von Olshausen, Sunfire

SOE development focuses mainly on improving the stability and lifetime of the stack, increasing capacity and reducing costs.

“We will redesign individual components to last longer, and we will simplify the design of the systems,” says Sunfire CTO Christian von Olshausen.

“With our optimised high-temperature electrolysers, our industrial customers will be able to produce green hydrogen more efficiently—and therefore more cost-effectively. To further reduce the price of our product, we will be developing process chains for industrial series production.”

Leading the way

Sunfire will lead a consortium of 15 associated partners in the development of SOE technology—including technology firm Xenon Automatisierungstechnik, which will help Sunfire set up a pilot production line. The two firms are already collaborating in making SOEs for fuel producer Neste’s Rotterdam refinery.

UK-based hydrogen technology developer Ceres Power recently announced its move into commercialising SOE units.

Around half of the funding will also be used by Sunfire and eight partners as part of a separate project to scale up AE to gigawatt-scale. Sunfire will also be investing its own funds in the development of the technology.

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Author: Tom Young