December 11, 2023
Status of Hydrogen Production Electrolyzers in China and Overseas Market
Hydrogen production currently has three major routes, hydrogen production from fossil fuels, hydrogen production from industrial by-products, and hydrogen production from electrolysis water.
Water electrolysis hydrogen production is regarded as the ultimate route due to its character of zero-carbon emission. Electrolyzer is the main equipment used in water electrolysis hydrogen production. In this article, you will learn the growth status of hydrogen production electrolyzer in China and the overseas market.
Growth of the Hydrogen Production Electrolyzer Market
Global market: Water electrolysis hydrogen production has entered a period of rapid growth, and the installation and expansion of electrolyzers are accelerating.
The electrolyzer is the main equipment used to electrolyze water to produce hydrogen. After a certain period of technological layout and industrial chain development, the global installed capacity of hydrogen production electrolyzers has entered a stage of rapid growth.
In 2021, the world’s newly installed capacity was 209MW, a year-on-year increase of 2.4 times; IEA predicts that the global additionally installed capacity of hydrogen production electrolyzers in 2022 and 2023 will reach 0.9 and 4.1GW respectively, and the total global installed capacity will reach 1.4GW and 5.5GW respectively. Under the net-zero emission target, hydrogen production electrolyzers’ global cumulative installed capacity will reach 720GW in 2030.
According to IEA, the total global electrolyser production capacity in 2021 is 8.0GW/year, of which European and Chinese production capacities are 3.5 and 2.9GW respectively, accounting for 44% and 36% respectively.
IEA predicts that the total global electrolyzer production capacity will reach 21.5 and 45.1GW/year respectively in 2023/2025, with Europe and China’s combined electrolyzer production capacity accounting for 85%/68% of the world’s total; the compound growth rate of global total electrolyser production capacity from 2021 to 2025 Reached 54.1%.
China Market: Electrolyser bidding reaches a new high, and the green hydrogen competition has begun.
According to preliminary statistics from GGII, domestic shipments of water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment reached 722MW in 2022 (including exports, excluding R&D prototypes), a significant year-on-year increase of 106%.
Among them, Sinopec’s Xinjiang Kuqa Green Hydrogen Demonstration Project has the largest contribution, installing 52 alkaline electrolyzers with a single-tank hydrogen production capacity of 1,000Nm³/h, with a power scale of approximately 240MW, accounting for 1/3 of national shipments.
In the first quarter of 2023, the bidding volume for hydrogen electrolyzers has reached 452MW. Hydrogen Cloud Chain statistics show that the domestic public bidding volume of hydrogen electrolyzers in the first quarter of 2023 was 452MW, equivalent to 60% of the full-year shipments in 2022, which exceeded the full-year shipments in 2021. The green hydrogen electrolyzer competition has already begun.
Alkaline Electrolyzers - Hydrogen Production by Electrolysis of Alkaline Water
Technical routes for hydrogen production through electrolysis of water include alkaline electrolysis (ALK), proton exchange membrane electrolysis (PEM), solid oxide electrolysis (SOEC) and anion exchange membrane electrolysis (AEM).
Alkaline electrolysis (ALK) is an electrolysis process completed in an alkaline electrolyte solution (usually KOH). OH- ions reach the anode through the separator and lose electrons to produce O2. Water gains electrons at the cathode to produce H2 and OH-. Alkaline electrolysis technology is mature and equipment costs are low, making it the current mainstream route.
The IEA estimates based on the deployment of existing hydrogen energy projects that the global cumulative installed capacity of alkaline electrolyzers in 2022 was at least 727MW (some projects didn’t not disclose technical routes), accounting for 52% of the total installed capacity.
Structure of Alkaline Electrolyzer
An alkaline electrolyzer is composed of multiple electrolysis chambers. It’s usually cylindrical and can adopt a series unipolar or parallel bipolar filter press structure. The plates are clamped together by bolts and two end pressure plates to form multiple separated chambers. Each chamber is composed of electrodes, separators, gaskets, and bipolar plates. Electrodes, separators and gaskets are key materials for alkaline electrolyzers.
The electrodes usually use nickel mesh or nickel foam, whose performance has a decisive impact on the current density and electrolysis efficiency, and its cost accounts for about 28% of the system cost.
The separator is used to separate the two poles, and it is required to ensure air tightness while reducing resistance and finally cuts the power loss. Sealing gaskets are used to solve the insulation problem between pole pieces, and their insulation properties have an impact on electrolysis efficiency, safety, and system service life.
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