Smoltek Hydrogen – a nanotechnology company in Gothenburg
Vätgas Sweden has visited a nanotechnology laboratory for the development and testing of new ideas in micro and nanotechnology. It is the Swedish nanotechnology company Smoltek Hydrogen that has an internal hydrogen laboratory in the open cleanroom user facility at the Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2) at Chalmers University of Technology. In connection with the laboratory, they also have their headquarters, right in the heart of Gothenburg.
Attracts scientists and engineers from all over the world
Smoltek is a listed Swedish company that specializes in the development and integration of carbon nanotechnology. One of the company’s business areas is hydrogen, where technical solutions are developed to be able to scale up hydrogen production. During our visit to the hydrogen laboratory, which was inaugurated in May 2023, we met several international researchers and engineers who are driven by finding solutions in industry. In the facility, which is equipped with advanced instruments and tools, the R&D team can perform performance measurements and carry out long-term tests of electrolyser cells, as well as manufacture their own test cells. With this, the development of the cell material can be accelerated, while the evaluation of different concepts for volume production is enabled.
Scaling up of electrolysers is necessary
To produce fossil-free hydrogen, renewable electricity is used in an electrolyser, where water is split into hydrogen and oxygen. There are different types of electrolyzers. One of these is the PEM electrolyzer, or proton exchange membrane electrolyzer. It is a modern variant that can be started and stopped quickly, and therefore fits well with intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind power. In order to achieve large-scale production of renewable hydrogen, scaling up of electrolysers and thus lowering costs is crucial.
Found the solution to reduce the precious metal iridium
A PEM electrolyzer uses iridium particles as catalysts on the anode side of the electrolyzer cell. But since iridium is an extremely expensive precious metal, other alternatives need to be found. Furthermore, the amount of iridium in the electrolyser must be reduced if electrolyser manufacturing is to be scaled up at all, because there simply isn’t enough iridium to mine if we continue with today’s iridium coating. In Smoltek’s hydrogen laboratory, they can test cells with a minimal amount of iridium.
Smoltek has found a solution to the problem. By using vertical nanofibres, the company has developed a new coating technology for the electrode on the anode side of the electrolyser cell which can significantly reduce the iridium coating. Smoltek has a strongly patent-protected technology consisting of roughly 110 patent assets within 20 patent families, of which 83 are currently granted patents.
Thanks to the fact that the material consists of amounts of vertical nanofibres, a coatable surface is created that is up to 30 times larger compared to today’s materials. By significantly reducing the iridium coating, the cost of the electrode material becomes tens of thousands of kroner cheaper per square meter.
In addition, Smoltek Hydrogen’s coating technology can increase the capacity per area of the cell by using longer fibers. It may sound paradoxical, but with longer fibers, more iridium can be coated and thus the number of cells in the electrolyser can be reduced. Fewer cells means another significant cost saving for electrolyser manufacturers.
All parts of the hydrogen value chain must be profitable in order to boost the hydrogen industry. Here we got an insight into how passionate companies develop hydrogen production. A special thanks to Ph.D Fabian Wenger, PhD Ellinor Ehrnberg, Xin Wen, Bastien Penninck and Shafiq Kabir at Smoltek for a very interesting day with you!
Smoltek’s hydrogen laboratory, the open cleanroom user facility at the Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2) at Chalmers University of Technology.
Photo@Hydrogen Sweden
Bild@Smoltek Nanotech Holding AB (“Smoltek”) announces that the group company Smoltek Hydrogen has inaugurated an internal hydrogen laboratory.
