New industry-academia collab wants to reduce cost of green hydrogen production

Spanish materials technology company Matteco has partnered with Siemens Energy and Horiba, as well as the Institute of Molecular Sciences (ICMol) of the University of Valencia, and the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nuremberg for Renewable Energies (HI ERN) to develop a sustainable, efficient, and scalable electrolyzer that will reduce the cost of green hydrogen production.

The partners will collaborate to advance the development of a new electrolyzer under the SEAL-HYDROGEN project.

The project, coordinated by Gonzalo Abellán, co-founder and CTO of Matteco, and head of the 2D-Chem materials research group at the University of Valencia, has been awarded 3 million euros through a Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) grant from the European Union’s Horizon Europe program.

According to partners, SEAL-HYDROGEN will pioneer efficient and stable electrolyzers, combining the benefits of an established technology with cutting-edge innovations to make the systems more cost-competitive

The consortium’s technology replaces precious metal-based catalysts with catalysts that do not require critical raw materials, such as nickel and iron, and enables higher current densities and efficiencies making the production of electrolyzers more sustainable and reducing costs for producers of green hydrogen.

The project involves the scale-up of PGM-free nickel-iron-based catalysts, coatings, and electrodes by Matteco, and the design of a full-scale electrolyzer stack to bring the new technology to a pre-pilot level. Siemens Energy will contribute to the consortium with its expertise in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE).

Commenting on the project, Gonzalo Abellán, said: “It is inspiring to carry out a tangible transfer of knowledge and technology, from the initial conception in the laboratory, through the field of experimentation and finally transforming it into a concrete application for the green hydrogen industry. We are proud to collaborate with leading organizations in the field, bringing together the best of both industrial and academic talent.”

Matteco is based in Valencia, Spain, and is part of Zubi Group. The company is currently expanding its manufacturing capacity to reach GW scale by the second quarter of 2024.

The Spanish company recently became a member of Hydrogen Europe, an industry organization representing European-based companies and stakeholders that are committed to moving towards a carbon-neutral economy.