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This press release is an English version of the previously published Swedish version, which has interpretive precedence.
Smoltek Nanotech Holding AB (publ) ("Smoltek" or the "Company") has developed a porous transport electrode (PTE) that reduces the amount of iridium catalysts in PEM electrolyzers to a minimum of 0.1 mg/cm2- the level considered to make large-scale production of PEM electrolyzers profitable. The reduction represents a 95 percent reduction in iridium compared to conventional PEM electrolyzers, which provides a solution to the major challenge that the overuse of iridium poses to the hydrogen industry.
"We are incredibly pleased that we have so quickly reached our goal of producing hydrogen with only 0.1 mg of iridium per square centimeter. We are the only ones to achieve this without compromising performance and have thereby addressed one of the hydrogen industry's biggest technical challenges - the limited availability of iridium, which has so far been an obstacle to large-scale manufacturing of PEM electrolyzers", says Ellinor Ehrnberg, President of Smoltek Hydrogen.
In a durability test over 250 hours of continuous operation (at 2 A/cm2), Smoltek Hydrogen's PTE produced hydrogen with a catalyst loading of only 0.1 mg iridium/cm2 - without any degradation of the nanostructure of the electrolyzer cell. The test results demonstrate that the company's anode electrode technology is durable and efficient, while reducing iridium usage by 95 percent compared to conventional technology.
"This test showed the same results as the 1,000-hour durability test we carried out in April 2024, but now with half the amount of iridium. When we saw that the cell performance was equivalent at both 0.1 mg and 0.2 mg iridium, we chose to discontinue the test and focus development on other parts of the PTE technology for the next longer durability test", says Fabian Wenger, Head of R&D at Smoltek Hydrogen.
Smoltek's PTE is making a mark in the hydrogen industry
Smoltek Hydrogen's nanostructure for PTE has been developed in record time. The first prototypes with 0.5 mg iridium/cm2 began serious testing in 2023. The results showed that further research into how Smoltek's nanostructures can be configured to survive in the harsh electrochemical environment of an electrolyzer cell could make it possible to reach down to 0.1 mg iridium/cm2.
High iridium usage has long been a major technical challenge for the rapidly growing green hydrogen industry produced from intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind power, as today's conventional PEM electrolyzers use around 2.0 milligrams of iridium per square centimeter. The results from last year's reliability test with 0.2 mg iridium/cm2 made a big impression in the hydrogen industry, and the company received inquiries from several potential customers who expressed interest in conducting their own tests of the technology.
"Smoltek's technology is expected to significantly reduce the costs of producing PEM cells. Previously, the willingness to invest in PEM electrolyzers has been limited by high costs for, among other things, iridium, but now we have proven that we have a solution to this challenge and are well prepared for the major growth that is now being scaled up globally", Ellinor Ehrnberg concludes.
For a deeper understanding of the results of this breakthrough, read our blog posts on why the 0.1 mg iridium/cm² limit is so crucial for green hydrogen production and what methods others are using to try to get there:
- Unlocking the green hydrogen economy: www.smoltek.com/8085
- The last crusade for 0.1 mg iridium: www.smoltek.com/8089