(Berlin) - The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) is participating in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's lead project “H2Mare”. This aims to develop a new type of system for the production of green hydrogen - "a solution that optimally integrates an electrolyzer for direct conversion of electrical current into an offshore wind turbine," according to the authority. Should be within four years H2Mare, as reported, will help, among other things, to significantly reduce the production costs of hydrogen.
BAM examines corrosion of buildings and systems
BAM has pooled its expertise in the field of hydrogen into a competence center “H2Safety@BAM” and wants to participate in the “PtX-Wind” and “TransferWind” sub-projects. The focus is on investigations into corrosion and corrosion protection as well as external corrosion of components and system parts.
According to the information, the results should be incorporated into regulations and standardization and ensure continuous operational safety of the offshore structures. “The aim is to ensure a service life of the system parts and components of at least 25 years,” says BAM.
TU Berlin researches catalysts
The search for a new type of system for offshore electrolysis and the transport of green hydrogen on land is just one of the tasks within H2Mare. It would also be possible to further process hydrogen at sea into industrial chemicals, such as methane, methanol and ammonia with the help of carbon dioxide from the air or sea water. “The question of the required chemical purity of seawater and the possible dissolution and corrosion processes in the electrolyzer due to the ion and salt content of more or less purified seawater is the focus of our research work,” explains Peter Strasser, head of the electrochemistry department at the Technical University University of Berlin. Direct use of seawater is “fundamentally desirable,” but “possibly poses previously unexplored challenges for the catalysts and membranes of electrolyzers.”
In 2018, Strasser's working group presented an alkaline seawater electrolysis cell that is based on nanostructured nickel-iron hydroxide layers for the anode and platinum nanoparticles for the cathode and could be tested in operation for 100 hours. Together with the research facilities of the German Gas and Water Association (DVGW) and the Helmholtz Center Hereon in Geesthacht, the TU Berlin now wants to further develop the electrode materials and install a test bench for offshore operation on the high seas at the Electrochemistry Department.
The aim is to build an entire “stack cell” for seawater electrolysis and operate it at one kilowatt of electrical power under realistic conditions, according to a statement. The Federal Ministry of Research has now made 2,48 million euros available to the department for this research.
H2Mare consists of four collaborative projects with a total of 35 partners. Coordinators are Siemens Energy and institutes of the Fraunhofer Society. The total funding amount is over 100 million euros.
The federal government’s hydrogen lead projects
In a total of three Hydrogen lead projects Over 240 organizations and companies from science and industry work together. In total, the funding will amount to more than 740 million euros. Over a period of four years, they are intended to remove existing hurdles that make Germany's entry into a hydrogen economy more difficult.
This involves the series production of large-scale electrolyzers (H2Giga), the production of hydrogen and derivative products on the high seas (H2Mare) and technologies for the transport of hydrogen (TransHyDE). Peter Strasser's department is also involved in the H2Giga project, which has been running for a while, here with a funding amount of around three million euros.
deep link
https://www.bam.de/Content/DE/Pressemitteilungen/2021/Energie/2021-01-10-h2mare-gruene-wasserstofftechnologien.html
https://www.tu.berlin/ueber-die-tu-berlin/profil/pressemitteilungen-nachrichten/2021/oktober/projekt-h2mare/
Graphic above
Schematic representation of the production of green hydrogen at sea in the H2Mare project © Projektträger Jülich / BMBF
Photo middle
System view of the TU Berlin membrane water electrolyzer for the direct production of hydrogen from seawater © TU Berlin
