Episode 9: Lennart van der Burg
In this episode, we talked to Lennart van der Burg, Program and Business Development Manager Green Hydrogen, at the Netherlands Organisation for applied scientific research (TNO) to hear about electrolysis and related technologies, their challenges, and the industry’s future development.
Lennart van der Burg, Program and Business Development Manager Green Hydrogen, at the Netherlands Organisation for applied scientific research (TNO) began the interview with a brief explanation of the four main electrolyzer technologies in usage today.
Alkaline electrolysis is a mature technology and the most commercially widespread of the four and has been used in facilities with up to 100mw of production capacity. PEM - proton exchange membrane electrolysis, is also a very promising established technology owing to the more flexible operation enabled by its smaller electrolyzer size. Solid oxide electrolyzers (SOECs), which operate at higher temperatures with higher rates of electrical efficiency, are the least developed and commercially used of the four technologies. Major drawbacks for SOECs include higher CAPEX costs compared to alkaline and PEM electrolyzers and the higher material degradation rate that results from high operating temperatures. Another technology that Lennart mentioned is anion exchange membrane electrolyzers (IEM), which have the advantage of using more readily available materials for components, potentially enabling IEMs to grow to a larger commercial scale.
Three factors that determine the cost of hydrogen produced from water electrolysis are the electrolyzer’s CAPEX costs, electricity prices (including OPEX costs), and annual operating hours. For the factors that decide the cost of electrolyzers, Lennart pointed out that standardization, production automation, and technological innovation will assure future electrolyzer cost reductions.
Regarding the advantages of dedicated renewable generation and using surplus renewable to power electrolysis, Lennart replied that “producing hydrogen only from surplus electricity can be a challenge.” The electrolysis utilization rates from relying only on surplus renewable power are limited and don't present an attractive business case. Dedicated hydrogen production is envisioned to be the major route for powering electrolysis in the coming decade.
Lennart concluded the talk by stating that achieving large-scale production remains the industry’s major challenge. While several production-related challenges such as safety improvements and increasing automation rates can be resolved in the short-term, innovations in using less scarce materials, improving efficiency, and increasing the size and durability of electrolyzers are required for the industry’s long-term future.