Nel secures €135m grant to bring pressurised alkaline electrolysers to the market
The Norwegian electrolyser firm aims to build out an initial 1-2GW of manufacturing capacity at its existing site in Herøya
Electrolyser maker Nel has secured up to €135m ($146m) in grants from the EU Innovation Fund to build out manufacturing capacity for its new pressurised alkaline electrolysers.
The company had earlier this month disclosed in its Q3 report that a prototype was currently under construction at its test centre in Nortodden, eastern Norway.
Pressurised alkaline electrolysers are expected to perform better than their atmospheric pressure equivalents in ramping up and down in response to intermittent renewable electricity supply.
Some manufacturers claim similar capabilities to proton exchange membrane (PEM) equipment, albeit at a lower cost of manufacturing, largely because PEM electrolysers require expensive platinum group metals.
“Building on nearly 100 years of electrolyser innovation, we have developed this new, differentiated technology that will be a step-change in cost and performance for renewable hydrogen,” said Nel CEO Håkon Volldal.
“The core scientific breakthroughs we’ve had,” he added. “Now it's about packaging it and testing it properly before we introduce it to market.”
The company had received NKr 13m ($1.2m) from the Research Council of Norway in 2020 specifically for research and development into pressurised alkaline electrolysers.
“Bringing a new technology to market always entails risk, and we are thankful for the support we have previously received from the Research Council of Norway and Innovation Norway,” Volldal said today.
“With this substantially larger grant from the EU Innovation Fund, we will be able to bring the innovation to market at an accelerated pace.”
The grants from the Innovation Fund will go towards a phased build-out of manufacturing capacity at Nel’s site in Herøya, which already has two automated production lines to produce 1GW of standard alkaline electrolysers per year.
Nel plans to install an initial 1-2GW of annual manufacturing capacity for pressurised alkaline electrolysers at Herøya, before scaling up to 4GW per year.
The €135m in grants will be received in phases as Nel develops its facilities — although the company has yet to take a final investment decision. This will only be taken if the prototype and a future pilot stage are successful, as well as if there is enough customer demand for pressurised alkaline electrolysers.
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