Research project at SDU aims to make green hydrogen production PFAS-free and competitive

We keep hearing it: green hydrogen is essential if the green transition is to succeed. The fuel is needed in heavy industry, in the transport sector, and as an energy source on days when the sun isn’tshining and the wind turbines are still.

The problem right now is that green hydrogen – that is, hydrogen produced using green electricity – must be made through what’s known as electrolysis. And currently, that process is resource-intensive and therefore very expensive compared to hydrogen made from fossil fuels.

In addition, the production often relies on environmentally and health-hazardous fluorinated polymers, also known as PFAS, which the EU aims to phase out – and may even ban entirely.

A major new European research project called SUPREME and led by the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) aims to address all of this.

Together with six partners, including both private companies and other research institutions, researchers from SDU’s Department of Green Technology will, over the next three years, develop a new electrolysis technology that is cleaner and cheaper.

- The ambition is to demonstrate that green hydrogen can be produced competitively, sustainably and without the problematic substances on which the technology currently depends. We want to develop a new type of electrolysis that is ready to be taken forward to industrial application and can play a real role in the green transition, says Shuang Ma Andersen, professor at the Faculty of Engineering at SDU and project lead.

Specifically, the goal is that the new technology will eventually be able to produce 1 kilogram of green hydrogen for 2 euros, which is roughly the current level for fossil-based hydrogen. If successful, this could result in a CO₂ equivalent saving of 2 million tonnes as early as 2030.

European collaboration

The project is based on the so-called PEM electrolysis, which stands for proton exchange membrane. This is currently the most widespread technology for producing green hydrogen.

The technology is efficient and well-suited to work with solar and wind energy, but it is also dependent on very rare and expensive platinum-group metals and membranes containing PFAS. This makes the electrolysers costly, vulnerable to raw material shortages, and potentially problematic for the environment and public health.

In the project, the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council TÜBITAK will be responsible for developing a PFAS-free membrane, while the university TU Graz in Austria will benchmark towards the commercial opportunities.

Researchers at SDU, in collaboration with the British metal and catalyst company Ames Goldsmith, will work to reduce the use of the rare platinum-group metal iridium by up to 75% while also developing processes that allow for the recycling of about 90% of these valuable metals.

Finally, the German research institute Fraunhofer will be responsible for the actual production of the new electrolyser, while the Norwegian hydrogen company Eonee will evaluate the component with a fresh design of the electrolyzer.

- We have brought together a strong European consortium with some of the most skilled research environments and companies within their respective fields, and that gives us a unique starting point. Together, we can tackle some of the key challenges currently standing in the way of the widespread adoption of green hydrogen, says Shuang Ma Andersen.

The research project is part of the EU’s Clean Energy Transition Partnership.