A new startup aims to localize hydrogen production with shipping container-based hydrogen-producing electrolyzers to accelerate adoption of this greener fuel alternative.
Ecolectro is trying to find a way to make hydrogen fuel more accessible, since it doesn't have the pipeline infrastructure that natural gas, a dirty fossil-based fuel, currently enjoys, as TechCrunch reported.
"We are very interested in figuring out who's trucking in hydrogen today," Ecolectro's Gabriel Rodriguez-Calero told TechCrunch. By offering a solution for making the gas onsite, "you're mitigating a lot of risk around logistics of transportation, logistics of storage at the site," he added.
Existing hydrogen production methods can be costly, since some electrolyzers use expensive materials, the report explained. Others rely on outdated technologies that aren't very efficient.
The process that Rodriguez-Calero's company aims to use is a combination of two popular approaches: proton-exchange membrane and alkaline electrolysis. While the first option is said to be pricier, the second one is less efficient.Â
Ecolectro's method uses a membrane that can handle the harsh conditions of alkaline electrolysis, as TechCrunch explained. The company also found a way to eliminate the use of PFAS — toxic forever chemicals — from the process while replacing iridium and platinum with more affordable nickel.
"You can use 1,000 times the nickel per amount of iridium you might use and still not change the cost," Rodriguez-Calero told TechCrunch.
This new hydrogen production technology comes as the Department of Energy explores the future potential and benefits of clean hydrogen. Expanding its use could mean a 10% reduction in economy-wide emissions by 2050, while creating over 100,000 new jobs by 2030.Â
Electrolysis has shown great promise, and if 90% of hydrogen production uses that method, it could require 200 gigawatts of renewable energy to power it by 2030, strengthening the need for that sustainable resource.
Right now, as TechCrunch explained, the startup has built a 10-kilowatt electrolyzer as proof of concept, which can produce 5 kilograms of hydrogen daily. Liberty Utilities in Upstate New York is testing it by mixing hydrogen with the dirtier natural gas it distributes.Â
As for the future, Ecolectro is already in the process of building its 250-kilowatt commercial-scale version. It's expected to deliver 125 kilograms of green hydrogen daily, and Rodriguez-Calero shared that it should be ready for operation by the first quarter of 2025.
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