Developers to mix and match electrolysers for big projects

Combining alkaline and PEM technologies can deliver significant savings over project lifetimes, says Nel

Developers of large-scale green hydrogen projects are exploring ways to use combinations of different electrolyser technologies at the same facility as they seek to optimise performance, according to Norwegian electrolyser manufacturer Nel. The largest projects could potentially save “hundreds of millions of dollars” over the lifetime of a facility by deploying both alkaline and proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) technologies instead of opting for one or the other, CEO Hakon Volldal told analysts on the company’s second-quarter earnings call. Alkaline is the most established and cheapest technology. PEM is at an earlier stage of development and, as a result, more expensive, but it is gaining pop