Toyota supplier plans commercial launch of solid-oxide electrolyser for green hydrogen production from 2025
Local reports indicate that first sales could be as early as 2025
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This demonstration partially displaces grey hydrogen supply, currently used to remove solder oxide and improve the joinability of power cards, a component of inverters used to drive the motors of hybrid or electric vehicles.
However, while SOEs are more efficient in terms of electricity input, this requirement for extremely hot water means an external heat source must be present — or otherwise use more electricity to heat the electrolyser.
Additionally, Denso has flagged that SOEs need to maintain this high temperature, as “it is easy for heat to dissipate due to the different in temperature from the surroundings” — requiring extra energy to keep the system hot — while some of the water vapour goes through the system without reaction.
The firm says it has developed a structure to efficiently recover exhaust heat while suppressing heat dissipation from the heat exchanger surface as well as a system to re-circulate steam, based on similar technologies used in vehicle parts.
Additionally, Denso’s design integrates heat insulation with the electrolyser cell in order to keep the whole system compact, rather than assembling these two components separately, which the manufacturer claims is often done for most SOEs.