Robust And Dynamic Electrolysis for Power-to-X

As fossil fuels are phased out, the ongoing energy transition increases the need for power-to-X (PtX) systems providing ancillary services and converting fluctuating wind/solar power to high-value products such as clean fuels. Electricity constitutes up to 80% of the PtX product cost, therefore, high conversion efficiency is critical.
The solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) technology has higher fuel production efficiency than competing alternatives, however limited lifetime is a barrier to SOE commercialization. The ROAD2X consortium will address this barrier by maturing DynElectro’s newly patented (AC:DC) operation that increases SOE lifetime. Additionally, AC:DC operation improves impurity tolerance and enables dynamic operation, important for balancing renewable power production with power consumption.
The project prepares AC:DC operated SOE technology for commercialization by 1) demonstrating robust long-term operation (1 year) of SOE cells and stacks 2) investigate the tested cells and stack to identify how AC:DC operation reduces SOE degradation and improves impurity tolerance 3) demonstrating dynamic operation with a 40 kW SOE system 4) designing a power-to-methanol systems with thermally integrated SOE modules. Notably, the generic AC:DC operation method can be used on existing SOE technology from leading manufacturers, which enables rapid implementation and scaling towards large PtX systems for clean fuel production.