Cummins, a global power solutions provider, recently announced that it will launch a 5 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer project to provide renewable energy for public facilities in Douglas County, Washington, USA. The project will use renewable energy to produce hydrogen. This will become the largest PEM electrolyzer project in the United States and will be used in public facilities in the United States for the first time.
The project is scheduled to be put into use in 2021. The final electrolyzer plant will collect hydrogen from the Wells Dam on the Columbia River and produce commercial hydrogen for the area through water electrolysis. The Cummins PEM electrolyzer system will collect the remaining renewable energy from the dam and split the water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction. Hydrogen acts as an energy carrier and oxygen is released into the air. Hydrogen will be stored in gaseous or liquid form for use in a variety of applications including fuel-electric vehicles. The electrolyzer is driven by environmentally friendly hydroelectric power generation, and the carbon emissions during the hydrogen production process are zero.
Amy Davis, Vice President of Cummins and President of New Energy Business, said: “We believe that hydrogen technology will continue to promote the development of low-carbon solutions. This requires the joint efforts of enterprises, governments, and utilities to promote the world’s development in a more sustainable manner. Cummins In continuing to expand the energy market and provide our users with new power solutions, the cooperation with Douglas County is just an example of a global project."
One of the biggest problems in the renewable energy industry is how to store energy when there is no demand for it. Electrolyzer technology provides a solution to this problem. In public facilities projects like the Douglas County electrolyzer plant, the surplus energy is usually sold to the market at a low price, or there is no way to effectively use it. The Cummins PEM electrolyzer solution allows these surplus energy to be stored and sold as green hydrogen energy. In addition, it has also developed a brand-new service model for the field of public facilities, expanded more market opportunities, and effectively eliminated obstacles to the development of the industry.
Cummins is a global leader in diesel, natural gas and battery technology, and is rapidly developing its fuel cell and hydrogen technology capabilities. Cummins' fuel cell and hydrogen technologies power a variety of application scenarios, including buses, trailers, trucks, garbage trucks and rail transit. In the past few years, the company has completed a number of fuel cell and hydrogen technology projects, including the acquisition of Hydrogenics in September 2019, which has improved Cummins’ expertise in proton exchange membranes, alkaline fuel cells, and electrolyzers. Ability in the field of hydrogen. Cummins has also invested in LOOP Energy, signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Motor Company, signed a joint venture agreement with NPROXX, and invested in the development of solid oxide fuel cells.
