Technologies for Green Hydrogen in Sri Lanka – Development of an Advanced Electrolyser Management System
NRC Grant No: PPP 23-17
Research Institute: Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Amount Funded: Rs. 3200000.00
Date of Awarded: 15th December 2023
End Date: 14th Dcember 2025
Status: Ongoing
Summary
In the green hydrogen production system proposed in this project, electric power from one or multiple renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar) is converted into hydrogen gas through PEM water electrolysis. Modeling and simulation of such a system enable engineers to optimize component configurations and system performance. Despite intense and promising research over years on PEM water electrolyser technology, no model is yet commercially available that successfully predicts the levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH), the optimum ratio of renewable energies, size of the electrolyser stack, optimum operating conditions when coupled with renewable energies.
This work will focus on the characterisations and measurements needed to advance PEM water electrolysers and deliver new insights into developing a PEM water electrolyser management system. The system will be dedicated to the oversight of a PEM electrolyser system and will include monitoring the electrolyser cell, protecting the electrolyser cell, estimating the operation state, continually optimising the performance, and reporting operational status to external devices.
More specifically, the R&D program will develop ways of assessing cell-by-cell performance and state-of-health by using transfer function methods such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to determine losses (i.e. kinetic, ohmic and mass transfer), fault modes, and start/stop strategies to minimise performance degradation. Ensuring that each cell in a stack is suitably ‘balanced’ in terms of internal losses is essential for stack management. This project will deploy these techniques, and combine them with physics-based models to deliver an advanced electrolyser management system demonstrator.
Objectives
1. Establish the state-of-the-art in current electrolyser control methodology. The project will draw from the latest advances in the development of (primarily) polymer electrolyte electrolysers and build a program for improvement and adaptation and adoption of modelling and hardware development with the ultimate goal of achieving a distinct, viable and valuable commercial offering.
2. Understanding of connection to renewables and the grid: We will develop an accurate techno-economic model of a PEM water electrolysis system to explore the feasibility of producing green hydrogen from renewable energy sources in Sri Lanka and to develop an electrolyser management system to optimise such a system to implement price minimisation strategies to maximise profitability. The renewable electricity data required will be provided by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) along with any technical expertise required.
3. Development of a mathematical model to describe electrolyser operation validated using advanced diagnostic tools. As part of developing the electrolyse management system, a suite of bespoke characterisation tools will be developed that provide transformative new insight into the operation and degradation mechanisms of membrane-based water electrolysers. Operating conditions such as temperature, pressure, water flow rate and current density will be varied for performance monitoring, systems control, safety maintenance, and fault-finding, as well as production and end-of-life processing.
4. Demonstration of an electrolyser management system. Combining the electrolyser model with advanced measurement insights will lead to the demonstration of a control system that optimizes electrolyser operation (efficiency, durability, and safety) as well as having the insight from the grid/renewables – from (1), to optimise electrolyser operating modes.
Major Equipment Facilitated by Grant
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