Electrolysers

EXCLUSIVE | Cummins will start fixing its defective hydrogen electrolysers from September

Electrolyser manufacturer confirms the affected model and how many units have been affected to Hydrogen Insight

Spanish federal and regional government officials at the inauguration in March 2022 of the Power to Green Hydrogen plant in Mallorca, which has one of the defective Cummins electrolysers.
Spanish federal and regional government officials at the inauguration in March 2022 of the Power to Green Hydrogen plant in Mallorca, which has one of the defective Cummins electrolysers.Photo: IDAE
US conglomerate Cummins has told Hydrogen Insight that it will start fixing the “small number” of electrolysers that it told customers to stop using in April this year, from September.

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Cummins says that nine units that were operating in the field, and six electrolysers that were in the midst of being commissioned, have been affected.

“Less than 5% of our active electrolyzer population is impacted,” a spokesperson for the company said.

It has also confirmed that the technical problem has impacted “select HyLYZER 500” PEM electrolysers, originally made under its Hydrogenics subsidiary (now known as Accelera).

“This does not impact the HyLYZER 1000 or HyLYZER 5000,” the spokesperson said.

And while the manufacturer does not specify exactly what the issue is, it has been alleged on social media by independent hydrogen consultant Gniewomir Flis that the electrolysers have a problem with gas mixing inside the unit, “meaning that if they're switched on, they can explode”.
Cummins declined to say if that was the case, but the spokesperson told Hydrogen Insight: “Cummins takes potential safety concerns very seriously. The safety action is being conducted voluntarily by Cummins and there have been no injuries associated with this issue.”

The spokesperson said the electrolyser firm has identified the root cause and developed a retrofit solution that it plans to “begin rolling out to units in the field in September”.

However, updates from the “Power to Green Hydrogen” project in Mallorca, known to be affected by the problem, indicate that the plant will be up and running by the end of this year or beginning of 2024 — indicating that the campaign to fix this issue could take months.

Cummins is also communicating changes to delivery timelines for defective units that have yet to be commissioned with customers — suggesting a temporary hold had been placed on manufacturing.

Hydrogen Insight has reached out to Cummins for further details on the defect and timetable for retrofits.
Updated to include further details from Cummins on number of electrolysers involved.
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CumminsSpainEuropeNorth AmericaGreen H2
Published 25 August 2023, 11:10Updated 25 August 2023, 18:53