OVERVIEW - Hundred-megawatt orders dominate Q3 electrolyser market

The third quarter of 2023 for the global electrolyser market was characterised by a number of orders in the hundreds of megawatt range. Both HydrogenPro and Siemens Energy reported grabbing a 200-MW opportunity, but the Norwegian company stood out with a higher quarterly total of 300 MW.

The following overview collects widely-reported deals and contracts for electrolyser supply that were officially announced by the better-known sector players in July-September 2023. They are presented below in alphabetical order.

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The Q3 report brings updates for three of the four main technologies: Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM), Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) and Alkaline. No solid oxide (SOEC) contracts were disclosed during the period.

CIPHER NEUTRON

This time we start with Cipher Neutron Inc, a Canada-based disruptive technology company specialising in AEM electrolysers, reversible fuel cells and energy storage solutions. Presently, the firm offers 10-kW AEM devices and its incoming orders are not as big as those of other sector players but it is also working on larger electrolysers, including a 250-kW system in partnership with Ionomr Innovations Inc, to cater to megawatt-class hydrogen projects.

In July, Cipher Neutron reported getting an initial purchase order for a 10-kW AEM electrolyser stack from Blade Hydrogen Technology Co, a spin-off of the fuel cell development department of Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). Blade Hydrogen is expected to place a follow up purchase order of a megawatt scale if the initial project is implemented successfully.

However, Cipher Neutron’s more promising third-quarter orders were disclosed after that. Less than a week after reporting the Taiwanese contract, the company said it had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ghana-based infrastructure developer Kuber Group Africa that sets the stage for the potential purchase of 10 MW of Cipher Neutron’s equipment for multi-megawatt capacity projects to be secured by Kuber in both Ghana and Nigeria. An initial order for a 10-kW stack has already been made.

The most promising opportunity of the bunch, though, was unveiled in mid-August when Cipher Neutron signed a collaboration agreement with Montreal-based critical mineral exploration and development firm Strategic Resources Inc. Under the terms of the deal, the partners would study the use of AEM electrolysers at the metallurgical processing plant of Strategic’s flagship BlackRock Project in Quebec. The customer is expected to initially order 84 units of 250-kW AEM electrolysers, totalling 21 MW, for the production of some 10 tonnes of green hydrogen gas per day for use in the reduction of iron and potentially other purposes. Moreover, the partnership could eventually scale up to more than 200 units equalling 50 MW.

ELECTRIC HYDROGEN

Moving on to the megawatt-scale space, we take a look at a company that was founded less than three years ago. Electric Hydrogen Co (EH2) is a US-based company that offers a 100-MW solution based on the PEM technology that comes with all system components required to turn water and electricity into green hydrogen, including power conversion, gas processing, water treatment, and thermal management.

In September, EH2 announced the signing of a definitive deal for the supply of a 100-MW system to New Fortress Energy Inc for a green hydrogen project in Texas that will be scalable to 200 MWs in the future. At 100 MW, the system has the capacity to produce almost 50 tonnes per day. EH2 expects first hydrogen production in the final quarter of next year and full commercial operation in 2025.

ELOGEN

The third quarter of 2023 brought Elogen the first two contracts under the framework of a collaboration agreement with Korean partner Valmax Technology Corporation signed in May 2022.

First, Valmex contracted Elogen to design and manufacture a 2.5-MW PEM electrolyser with a daily production capacity of up to 1 tonne for a mobility demonstration project in Pyeongchang, Gangwon province. This was followed by a second contract in September for the supply of a device of the same size for another mobility project, located in Buan, North Jeolla. Both units are planned to be installed in 2025.

“We aspire to expand our collaborative efforts with Elogen to encompass large-scale projects outside of Korea, potentially in Asia-Pacific or the Middle East [...],” Valmax CEO Dong Yeol Park commented with regard to the partnership.

ENAPTER

Another AEM technology specialist Enapter AG, with headquarters in Germany and a factory in Italy, disclosed three Asian orders during the three-month period.

In July, it said it had completed the delivery of 30 AEM EL 2.1 electrolysers and 15 DRY 2.1 dryers for a hydrogen refuelling station in Tokyo as part of a contract awarded by Japanese gas company Tokyo Gas that is expected to open more hydrogen project opportunities in the country.

The German-Italian company then announced the signing of a EUR-6-million-plus framework supply contract in August with Chinese engine and drive manufacturer Wolong. As part of this order, Enapter will deliver 5 MW multi-core systems and around 130 compact single-core electrolysers EL 4.0 for use at various test sites in different application environments.

Later that month, Enapter got another Japanese order, this time from returning customer Enoah Inc. The latter purchased 101 AEM Electrolysers EL 4.0 for use in Power-to-Power applications and refuelling stations. Enapter said it will supply the units between the end of the third quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

The company concluded its Q3 series of announcements with the introduction of a new product that addresses the market gap between the AEM Electrolyser EL 4, with a daily production of 1 kg, and the AEM Multicore, producing 450 kg per day. More specifically, it launched the AEM Flex 120, ranging from 70 kW to 120 kW. It is capable of producing around 53 kg per day.

Enapter noted that the first customer for the AEM Flex 120 is German brick producer ABC-Klinker, which intends to begin blending green hydrogen into its furnace gas mix to decarbonise its activities, gradually shifting to 100% green hydrogen.

The company said it will be able to complete the delivery of further AEM Flex 120 electrolysers in 2024.

H-TEC SYSTEMS

Aside from a new stack components development partnership with EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies GmbH, German PEM electrolysers maker H-TEC SYSTEMS made only one contract announcement during the period in question. In August, it said it sold a 1-MW ME450 unit to the University of Stuttgart for the WAVE-H2 test centre project on the site of the Freudenstadt campus.

WAVE-H2, funded with EUR 36 million provided by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), will establish a platform covering four areas: hydrogen production, storage, conversion and use. H-TEC SYSTEMS explained that its ME450 electrolyser will be delivered for the PEM electrolysis activity in the project.

HYDROGENPRO

As unveiled in April 2023, Norway’s HydrogenPro formed a partnership with Austrian technology group Andritz AG to scale up the manufacture and assembly of electrolysers for the European market, particularly when it comes to the high-pressure alkaline technology.

HydrogenPro’s first job as part of this strategic collaboration was unveiled in July, when Andritz agreed to undertake a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for the construction of a 200-MW hydrogen production plant in Kristinestad, Finland, on behalf of Koppo Energia, a joint venture between German asset manager Prime Capital and CPC Finland.

Then in September, Andritz was selected by the Salzgitter Group to build a 100-MW green hydrogen plant in Germany as part of the state-funded SALCOS programme targeting CO2-free steel production. This project brings a purchase order for 18 units of HydrogenPro’s 5.5-MW cell stacks, the company said. It represents the first stage of the SALCOS programme and will become operational as early as 2026.

HYSTAR

HydrogenPro is followed by another Norwegian company – Hystar AS, which did not actually report a specific new order in July-September but while announcing plans for a couple of new factories, summarised its upcoming deliveries. These include a 1-MW electrolyser to be shipped in the final quarter of 2023 to the developers of the HyPilot field project, namely Equinor, Yara Clean Ammonia, and Gassco, as well as a Q3 2024 delivery of a 5-MW system for Polish energy major Polenergia, to be used as part of the H2HubNS project in Nowa Sarzyna.

As per Hystar’s expansion plans, the company said that in 2025 it will build a fully-automated electrolyser factory in Hovik, Norway, with an annual production capacity of 4 GW, and will then move to establish a multi-gigawatt production facility in North America by 2027. It added it is not ruling out the possibility of investing in more gigawatt-scale factories before 2030.

ITM POWER

In July, British PEM technology specialist ITM Power Plc said it had received a contract for the procurement of long lead-time materials and components needed for the manufacturing of its MEP30 skids for a 100-MW project in Germany. Without giving much more details about the order, chief executive Dennis Schulz said that this will be ITM Power’s third 100-MW project. The customer is expected to take the Final Investment Decision (FID) this year.

The following month, ITM Power also announced the launch of a 20-MW core electrolysis process module. It is called Poseidon and is suitable for both indoor and outdoor installation.

KOHODO

Next comes an update from a Chinese company that is not widely covered – Kohodo Hydrogen Energy Co Ltd. In July, it disclosed on its website that it won an order to provide a set of alkaline electrolysers to the research and graduate education institution of Tsinghua University located in southern China. The equipment will be used as part of a demonstration project involving the use of offshore wind power. Kohodo said that this is the second time it takes part in an offshore wind-based hydrogen project.

NEL

Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS, a unit of Oslo-listed Nel ASA, made a couple of announcements in July for significant electrolyser supply orders. First, Qair-backed Hyd'Occ made a EUR-9-million firm purchase order for 20 MW of alkaline equipment for a project in Port-La-Nouvelle, France, for which Nel had already carried out a FEED study. Nel said it expects the stacks to be delivered around the end of 2023.

The second order, worth EUR 11 million, came from Portuguese chemicals producer Bondalti, which purchased 40 MW of alkaline electrolysers for the first phase of the H2 Enable project in Estarreja. This plant is seen to begin production in early 2026.

In September, Nel also announced the selection of Plymouth Charter Township, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, as the location for a 4-GW factory for the production of both alkaline and PEM electrolysers. Subject to taking FID, the factory will be built in steps to match supply with demand, the company said.

PLUG POWER

One of the regulars in the quarterly overview, Plug Power Inc, announced two orders in July, one of which was ten times larger than the other. First, it was reported that Countrywide Hydrogen Pty Ltd, a fully-owned unit of ReNu Energy Ltd, has ordered two 5-MW PEM electrolysers for green hydrogen projects in Tasmania, Australia. They are to be installed in Brighton, near Hobart, and Western Junction, near Launceston, and will be producing 4,200 kg of hydrogen per day to help decarbonise the road transport and natural gas sectors in the state.

A couple of days later, Plug announced a significantly larger order of 100 MW from an unnamed customer in Europe. It concerns a project in the oil and gas sector for which the US company had previously provided engineering support for a FEED study. The 100-MW system will be able to produce 43 tonnes of green hydrogen per day and it should be delivered next year.

SIEMENS ENERGY

In July-September, Siemens Energy publicly announced only one electrolyser supply contract but it was the single largest order during the period. It said in mid-September that Air Liquide had placed an order for 12 PEM electrolysers totalling 200 MW, to be installed in Normandy, France, as part of the Normand'Hy project. The facility will be built within the Port-Jerome industrial zone to produce about 28,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually for industry and the mobility sector. Its start-up is planned for 2026.

SUNFIRE

In August, Sunfire scored its first commercial order from “a leading refinery in Europe.” The German company said it got a contract to supply and supervise the installation of ten 10-MW alkaline modules to establish a 100-MW facility for an unnamed customer. This electrolyser is planned to commence operation in early 2026.

Just a few days later, Sunfire was handed over the notification for a EUR-169-million grant under the EU’s Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) programme. It said it will use the money for setting up series production in Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.