The proud South African green hydrogen technology, which may reduce the cost of green hydrogen, has just won the highest recognition in the first hydrogen forum in the Principality of Monaco.
Self developed divergent electrode flow (DEFT ?） The technology has won the Innovation Award of South Africa National Science and Technology Forum, which allows the electrolyzer to operate without membrane at higher temperatures, thus greatly improving the electrical efficiency.
Corrie de Jager, CEO of Hydrox Holding Company, the technology developer, said in a video interview that, as the world's first hydrogen electrolyzer without membrane, the patented DEFT system may reduce the cost of hydrogen production by as much as 30%.
The standard method of extracting hydrogen from water is to use a membrane to separate the two electrodes. Even the latest platinum based proton exchange membrane (or PEM) electrolyzers use membranes. However, Hydrox's patented DEFT system is not used, which makes it considered the best emerging technology solution for mobile and marine solutions.
The company's goal is to produce hydrogen less than R 100/kg, making it cost competitive with gasoline. Its purpose is to make hydrogen available to the public at any time through the use of a single pump model, which was used by Satmar and later Sasol in their early gas stations.
"Our technology is filmless technology. With the support of Shell through its Shell Game Rules Program, we have obtained patents and produced prototypes." De Jager said in an interview with South Africa's Engineering News and Mining Weekly: "This technology has really come to the fore now, and people are recognizing it."
Hydrox competes with hundreds of applicants from 15 countries and regions around the world, including the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and India.
De Jager pointed out that the traditional electrolytic cell would lose 25% to 30% of the power input as waste heat, which pushed up the price of electrolytic hydrogen and made it unable to compete with fossil fuels. However, DEFT without membrane allows higher temperature production and can operate outside of seawater and treated acid mine water. The standard electrolyzer uses a heat exchanger system to remove excess heat, so it does not replace the maximum operating temperature of the membrane. In DEFT, this excessive temperature can be "locked" into the system to improve system efficiency, thereby reducing operating expenses and hydrogen costs. The new system can also handle fluctuating currents, making it ideal for renewable energy and "green" hydrogen.
Electrolysis decomposes water into hydrogen and oxygen in an electrochemical way. In the past 200 years, the electrolytic cell has been limited to low temperature and pressure. Electrolysis basically uses some or other forms of membranes to maintain gas separation.
Engineering News and Mining Weekly: How does Monaco intend to use green hydrogen?
De Jager: The Principality wants to use it in the marine environment. They park these huge motorboats in the port. They all use diesel. They want to use green hydrogen instead of diesel. So do Spain and Italy, Gibraltar and Malta, and other countries that fight side by side with them. They are coming to us. They need to enter the green hydrogen space very much.
Engineering News and Mining Weekly: When will your DEFT electrolytic cell technology be commercially deployed?
De Jager: That's the first prize. Shell helped us with the grant, and then Covid came, and we fell into a standstill and had to use the advanced alkaline electrolyte standard zero gap system. Since our DEFT technology has been recognized again, we can't wait to continue to use it.
