Specifically, the joint effort successfully paired Ballard’s FCwave™ 200-kW fuel cell module with Element 1’s M/L18 hydrogen generator (235 kg/d of hydrogen), producing high-purity hydrogen in the range of 0.7 to 2.2 barg. This is a major breakthrough, since the typical FCwave hydrogen supply pressure range is 3.5 to 6.5 barg. This low-pressure result was achieved with Ballard-developed software modifications to the operation of the FCwave™; no hardware modifications were implemented.
Element 1’s generators produce hydrogen that meets ISO 14687-2019 standards for PEM fuel cells. Using a feedstock comprising methanol mixed with water, the M/L18 hydrogen generator produces hydrogen on demand and at the point of use for a fraction of the cost of compressed or liquid hydrogen. Additionally, the infrastructure and transportation challenges associated with handling compressed and liquid hydrogen are eliminated with methanol/water mix that may be handled, shipped, and stored using the same infrastructure developed over decades for handling other liquid fuels.
Dave Edlund, co-founder and CEO of Element 1 Corp, said: “With a simple software upgrade, any deployed FCwave may be coupled to an M/L18 hydrogen generator to achieve immediate savings on operational costs. And if renewable methanol is used, the carbon intensity of the resulting electrical power will be very low.”