German-NZ team to study new catalyst materials for electrolysis

The University of Bayreuth in Germany, research institute Fraunhofer IFAM and three universities in New Zealand are seeking to develop a cost-effective process for water electrolysis that uses nickel and manganese as catalyst materials.

The partners launched a project at the beginning of August that should enable the production of green hydrogen based on anion exchange membranes (AEM) technology without the use of rare precious metals such as iridium.

The research team will seek to develop new catalyst materials which will be manufactured and tested under real working conditions with the aim of advancing AEM electrolysis technology and using it on an industrial scale.

The University of Bayreuth said in a statement it will receive a grant of about EUR 240,000 (USD 244,000) from the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to fund its work.

The initiative, called HighHy, is one of three projects that have been selected to receive financing as part of the funding call "Green hydrogen cooperation with New Zealand".

Along with the University of Bayreuth and Dresden-based Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM), the research project involves also the New Zealand universities of Canterbury, Auckland and Wellington.

"Germany and New Zealand have a strong interest in transforming their energy systems into more sustainable and efficient technologies. One focus of bilateral cooperation is green hydrogen technology, which is a key component of Germany's decarbonisation strategy," said Bayreuth project coordinator Christina Roth.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.018)

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