Simple to build, simple to operate and simple to maintain. It wasn’t easy to achieve and has required a huge amount of engineering effort, stubbornness and many years of development. ‘Membrane-free’ allows green hydrogen to be produced efficiently using intermittent renewable electricity with no rapid drop off in performance that is associated with membrane technologies. It also results in a largely mechanically passive process with a much wider tolerance of operational conditions providing longevity and much simpler maintenance procedures.
Our Membrane-Free Electrolysers™ are safe to operate and do not need to be in clean rooms, they can be situated in a standard production facility. Building on existing standards that have not kept pace with technology and with a paradigm-shifting approach to system and operational safety, we are proactively developing, along with key industry stakeholders, best practice guidance for the benefit of the entire hydrogen production community.
Not just in the renewable energy powering our efficient systems, but in the selection of widely available components, standard metals, and polymers that we specify for our equipment. Most materials we use are recyclable and are not exposed to the delicate and volatile supply chains associated with the procurement of exotic materials. Only a very low concentration of alkaline electrolyte is needed, which is not only better for our technicians and services engineers to handle, but also the environment. Also, a lower grade of purified water is required by our robust electrolysis process, potentially resulting in less wastewater being produced.
Being passionate about hydrogen as clean energy for the future, we wanted to find an alternative to PEM electrolysers as these had barriers to adoption. We realised that the cleanest way to produce hydrogen was by membrane-free water electrolysis, and in doing so, it would be a less expensive and more robust technology.
Dr. Nigel Williamson and Joe Scott established CPH2 (Ireland) in 2012 with the ambition to help clean up the environment for our children and future generations. Entering the green technology sector; a high growth and profitable market, they developed a Membrane-Free Electrolyser™ to produce hydrogen faster, more reliably, and more cost-effectively than other electrolysers.