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In this episode of Innovate and React, I met with Miriam Hesse and Bastian Kaufmann, researchers at the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Center (ZBT) to discuss the rising potential of Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) water electrolysis. We explore how AEM serves as the perfect compromise between traditional alkaline systems and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis, offering high efficiency without the reliance on expensive precious metals like platinum and iridium. Miriam and Bastian share their journey into hydrogen research and how ZBT acts as a crucial bridge between fundamental chemistry and applied industrial engineering across the entire hydrogen value chain.
The conversation dives deep into the specific challenges and innovations within AEM technology, from navigating the historical bottlenecks of polymer membrane stability to the intricate process of fabricating homogeneous catalyst layers directly onto porous transport layers (PTLs). We discuss the promising use of nickel-based catalysts to optimize the oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions. Furthermore, we examine the complexities of scaling this technology for industry, emphasizing the need for long-term degradation data, accelerated stress tests, and advanced analytical methods like electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the distribution of relaxation times (DRT) to pinpoint exactly where performance losses occur in real-world systems.
- 01:35 – Introductions and ZBT’s Role in Applied Hydrogen Research
- 09:31 – The Basics of Water Electrolysis and Green Hydrogen
- 12:15 – AEM Explained: Combining PEM Efficiency with Alkaline’s Cheap Materials
- 17:15 – Fabrication Hurdles: Membranes, Ionomers, and Porous Transport Layers (PTLs)
- 26:35 – Catalyst Innovation: Replacing Precious Metals with Nickel, Iron, and Sulfur
- 37:52 – The Scale-Up Gap: Real-World Degradation and Accelerated Stress Tests
- 48:15 – Advanced Diagnostics: Using Impedance Spectroscopy to Map Cell Losses
- 52:11 – Favorite Discoveries in Chemistry and Engineering
More on the topic: M. Manolova, M. Hesse, J. Lieb, I. Radev, Ş. Sörgel, H. Kaßner, T. E. Müller, U.-P. Apfel, “Enhancing anion exchange membrane water electrolysis: A study of electrodeposited nickel-based anode materials” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 2025, 184, 151511; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.151511
ZBT research on AEM: https://zbt.de/forschung/elektrolyse/aem-wasserelektrolyse-2/
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