Smoltek: We have technology to make green hydrogen production profitable

Swedish Smoltek Nanotech Holding has developed a technology that the company claims will make the production of green hydrogen profitable.

The company’s subsidiary Smoltek Hydrogen developed a nanomaterial that, according to Smoltek, has been proven to work well in long-term studies:

“The company has developed a new material that solves the major technical challenge that threatens to halt the fast-growing industry for green hydrogen produced by intermittent energy sources, such as solar and wind power. With the company’s nanomaterial, the use of iridium (catalysts) in PEM electrolyzers can be reduced to levels that make large-scale hydrogen production profitable.”

Smoltek wants to reach the goal of 0.1 mg of iridium per square centimeter, which it considers to be the level at which large-scale manufacturing of PEM electrolyzers becomes commercially profitable. The company noted that it is not aware of any other industrially verified solution that is able to reach this tipping point.

The company is now seeking partners to finance the remaining development and commercialization of the nanomaterial, including the scale-up of production capacity. The process has been concretized with Smoltek’s ongoing bidding process for Smoltek Hydrogen, as well as the subsidiary Smoltek Semi, which is expected to take 6–12 months.

Ellinor Ehrnberg, President of Smoltek Hydrogen, commented: “We have high ambitions as we are currently unique in providing a solution to a critical problem. Following the presentation of excellent long-term results, we have started to more firmly work towards becoming the electrolyzer manufacturers’ collaboration partner for the next generation of electrolyzers.”

“The interest from leading players is strong even before we have actively started to reach out to the market, and discussions and tests are already underway with a number of leading companies. Our target is to reach a 30 percent market share in 2030 together with partners, which would correspond to a turnover of approximately 20 billion SEK [$1.922 billion]. And even if the projected sales volume is large, a giant factory plant is not required. But it is urgent to start building a pilot plant, because time is short. For that reason, the ongoing bidding process is an important step on the way there.”

During the next year, Smoltek said that its hydrogen subsidiary plans to establish a pilot plant for small-scale industrial production to, together with customers, manufacture prototypes of new electrolyzers and, together with machine suppliers, be able to create the specifications for the first large-scale plant.

“There are several possible paths forward regarding volume production, but in a such a fast-growing industry it is not unusual to build up the business operations as an independent company, as an alternative to being part of a larger industrial structure,” Smoltek stated.

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