Ohmium International announced the launch of an electrolyzer super factory in India through its branch enArka India in Bangalore. Gigafab in Bangalore will manufacture electrolyzers based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology to produce green hydrogen. Initially, its electrolysis equipment production capacity was about 500 MW per year, and eventually it plans to expand to 2 GW per year.

According to a report by TERI, if India is to adopt green hydrogen as a clean energy solution for key sectors including transportation, industry and electricity by 2050, India will need to invest heavily in electrolyzers.

Most hydrogen in India is produced by steam methane (CH4) reforming using natural gas and used in the refining and fertilizer industries. The hydrogen produced in this way is called "gray" because carbon by-products lead to the production of carbon dioxide. Green hydrogen produces zero-carbon hydrogen by electrolyzing water using renewable electricity. India has conducted a lot of research on hydrogen production by electrolysis, but this low-carbon technology has not yet been deployed on a large scale.

PEM electrolysis

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) is a newer electrolysis method than alkaline electrolysis. It reverses the principle of the fuel cell and does not require a liquid electrolyte. The water is pressed through a stack of two electrodes and a polymer membrane. It only allows positively charged hydrogen protons to pass. Platinum is commonly used as a catalyst in batteries. Thin batteries composed of membranes and a pair of electrodes can be stacked to obtain better performance.

Compared with alkaline electrolysis, PEM electrolysis has the advantage of quickly responding to typical fluctuations in renewable energy power generation. This technology is usually used in distributed systems because the equipment has low maintenance costs and provides high-quality gas. Ohmium claims that its technology enables the design of compact electrolyzers to quickly heat and cool in a short response time.

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Our stack can withstand the pressure difference across the membrane without compromise. This feature supports optimization of compressor design with the help of electrochemical compression as part of hydrogen generation. The use of solid and thin electrolyte membranes can shorten the proton transmission path, thereby minimizing ohmic losses. This in turn allows our electrolyzers to operate at very high current densities and improve cost-effective operation.Editor/Baohongying