PEM Electrolyzer Reliability Based on 20 years of Product Experience in Commercial Markets 2 nd International Workshop on Durability and Degradation Issues in PEM Electrolysis Cells and its Components Everett Anderson 18 February 2016
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PEM Electrolyzer Reliability Based on 20 years of Product Experience in Commercial Markets2nd International Workshop on Durability and Degradation Issues in PEM Electrolysis Cells and its Components
Everett Anderson18 February 2016
Proton OnSiteManufacturer of packaged products, systems• Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) expertise• H2 generation by water electrolysis• N2 generation by membrane and CMS• Founded in 1996• 100,000 ft2 manufacturing/R&D facility• ISO 9001:2008 registered
Over 2200 systems in more than 75 countries
2
Proton’s World Headquarters in Wallingford, CT
Company Founding Premise - 1996
• Build a commercial business on existing industrial hydrogen markets.– Establish real commercial manufacturing– Hedge on timing of future energy markets
• Advance technology towards the “hydrogen economy” (which was only 5 years away).
• Capitalize on huge markets in transportation, energy storage and others to propel growth.
3
What Did We Learn
• The road to profitable, reliable products takes longer then you think.
• Having a quality system and a strong service organization are keys to success.
• Displacing existing technology is difficult.– Existing technologies do not stand still.
• It is too easy to learn to get comfortable losing money.• You need to say NO to some opportunities.• Defining your customer value proposition is essential.
4
Today…• Focus is on commercial markets and profitability
while still engaging in energy markets– Delicate balance– New energy applications present capital as well as
operating cost challenges• Demonstrated reliability of Proton’s PEM-based
hydrogen generators in industrial applications– Cell stack technology is the most reliable component in the
system• Necessary technology advances are the biggest risk
to established durability and reliability• Search for meaningful accelerated stress tests
remains elusive– Still see potential value of AST’s in reducing development
risk
5
PEM Cell Stacks Complete Systems
Proton Capabilities
• Complete product manufacturing & testing• Containerization and hydrogen storage solutions• Turnkey product installation• World-wide sales and service
Storage Solutions
Power Plants LaboratoriesHeat Treating Semiconductors Government
6
Hydrogen Energy
• Emerging Markets– Gov’t supported– Business
cases still developing
Page 7
Wide Product Range to Meet Diverse Needs
G Series H Series M Series282 - 1’050L/h 2 - 6 Nm3/h 10 - 30 Nm3/h200 - 600 cc/min 50 to 400 Nm3/h
S Series C Series
PEM Electrolysis Reliability• Cell Examples:
– Membrane chemical stability– Catalyst voltage decay– Material oxidation– H2 embrittlement– Gas crossover
• Stack Examples:– Active area and seal area
pressure– Flowfield component
tolerances– Interface differential pressure
• System Examples:– Operating profile– Reactant purity– Power quality– Electromechanicals
(sensors, pumps, valves,…)
9
Stack Level
System Level
Cell Level
Technology Challenges and Approaches
2 V/cell, acidic media,
435 psi H2,7 year lifetime
2 V/cell, acidic media, >400 psi H2,
7 year lifetime
Catalyst
Membrane
Flow Fields/ Plates
Likely limited to noble metals with PEM• Improve manufacturing• Improve OER activity• Stable anode supports• Nanoengineered structures
Creep-rupture and crossover• Reinforced materials• High Tg and alternate PFSAs• Hydrocarbon membranes
H2 embrittlement and O2 oxidation• Alternate coatings• High yield manufacturing• Part consolidation
Page 10
Cell Stack / System Reliability Testing• Reliability tracking through
combination of in-house testing and field fleet information
• Expansive fleet of cell stack and system test beds
• Extensive in-house testing of design changes ahead of field introduction
• Hundreds of thousands of system/cell stack testing hours completed
• Tens of millions of cell-hours of data collected
• Multiple stacks with >60,000 hr. of demonstrated continuous operation
Established PEM Stack Durability
12
~60,000 hour life demonstrated in commercial stack designs
New designs have nodetectable voltage decay
>20,000 hour lifedemonstrated at 165 bar in high pressure stack design
Strong lineage to low pressure design
1.4
1.8
2.2
2.6
3.0
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000
Average Cell Potential
(Volts, 50oC)
Operating Time (Hours)
2003 Stack Design:1.3 A/cm2
4 µV/cell hr Decay Rate
200 psig (13 barg)
Proton Energy SystemsIn-House Cell Stack Endurance Testing
2005 Stack Design:1.6 A/cm2
Non Detectable Decay Rate
Field Population Operating Cell-Hrs
>1 Billion
Page 14
6%
94%
Cell Rework Summary, 2006 ‐ 2015
Total Cells ReplacedOriginal Cells in Operation
65%
23%
2%6% 4%
Defect Breakdown, 2006 ‐ 2015
Customer Contamination Material/Supplier IssueMisalignment/Part Defect System Operation
Cell Stack Reliability: 9 Years of Performance
81%
13%0%2%4%
Defect Breakdown, 2009 ‐ 2015
Customer Contamination Material/Supplier IssueMisalignment/Part Defect System Operation
66%
22%
2%6% 4%Defect Breakdown, 2006 ‐ 2012
Customer Contamination Material/Supplier IssueMisalignment/Part Defect System Operation
Cell Stack Reliability: Continuous Improvement
15
2006-2012
Rolling 6 year average shows high reliability continues to increase
2009-Today
3%
97%
Cell Rework Summary, 2009 ‐2015
Total Cells ReplacedOriginal Cells in Operation
8%
92%
Cell Rework Summary, 2006 ‐ 2012
Total Cells Replaced
2nd pie chart represents <50% cell count vs. 1st
Cell Stack vs. System: 2009 to 2016
• Cumulative Customer Shipments - Warranty
Page 16
Proton OnSite M Series
Standard Features• Scalable – 1MW and 2MW building blocks• Turn-key – all subsystems can be included• Flexible – Containerized or custom structures• Reliable –Proton’s demonstrated PEM track record• Safe – Proton PEM system architecture
Stack Roadmap to MW Scale
Page 18
Durability Testing – 3-Cell Verification
58°C, 30 barg,1.9 A/cm2
Page 19
1 A/cm2
Electrolysis Stack Load Cycle Testing
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Stack Cu
rren
t (A) or H
2 Press (psig)
Cell V
oltage
or C
G Level (% LFL)
Elapsed Time (sec)
Cell Voltage
CG SENSOR
STACK CURRENT
H2 PRESS
Page 20
Durability Testing – 165 kW (65 cells)
58°C, 30 barg
Page 21
M Series Platform Features250 KW PEM Cell-Stack• Redundant cell-stack modules with full
differential pressure (30 bar) capability allows for ambient pressure O2 architecture and provides “assured availability” of H2 in event of a stack failure
Hydrogen Gas Management System• Simple design is scale-up of heritage system
architecture
Water Oxygen Management System• Ambient pressure O2 circuit simplifies system
design (cost) & enhances safety
Skid Based Design• Offers flexibility for process plant layout and / or
containerized options
MW PEM Demonstrated
Page 23
1,151 kW
+300 A/min +500,000 cell hrs
MW PEM Demonstrated≥200 A/sec Ramp
Idle to Full Loadin less than 10 sec
Page 24
MW Cell Stack Validation
Cumulative cell-hours >500,000 to date (no failures)
5,000 psig Stack Platform• Developed and demonstrated through DOE support
Page 26
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Normalized
Diffusion Ra
te (cc/min/cell)
Pressure (psig)
193 bar 20‐cell #1
193 bar 20‐cell #2
350 bar cell
Cross-cell permeation measurements Proof pressure testing >7,500 psig
Full system operation at 5,000 psig H2
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
2.00
2.20
2.40
2.60
2.80
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
Cell Po
tential (Vo
lts)
Current Density (A/cm2)
350 bar, 50 C
13 bar, 50 C
∆V with pressure as predicted by Nernst equation
27
Summary
• PEM electrolysis is a mature technology serving many industrial applications
• Industrial PEM electrolysis systems have excellent reliability track record
• New energy applications will challenge that reliability as technology advancements to drive cost and reliability are adopted
• Need understanding of likely failure mechanisms and corresponding AST’s to shorten development time while reducing risk
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