2024 Electrolyzer Research Report
In the process of promoting green hydrogen globally, there are still many problems, such as the determination of hydrogen production standards, restrictions on patent licensing, and high hydrogen production costs. At present, the world’s major hydrogen energy participating economies, such as the European Union, the United States, China, and Japan, have not yet reached a consensus on the criteria for determining hydrogen energy types, and the European Union’s requirements for confirming green electricity required for hydrogen production are more stringent and cumbersome.
Hydrogen energy patents worldwide were originally mainly in the hands of the European Union and Japan. In recent years, the share of the United States, which has been at the forefront, is gradually decreasing, while South Korea and China are emerging in the field of hydrogen energy patents. The cost of producing green hydrogen globally is relatively high, and due to various factors such as wind and solar energy resources, industrial policies, and the maturity of the hydrogen production industry, the costs in different regions will also vary, which indicates that cross-regional green hydrogen trade will have huge development potential in the future.
In other words, electrolyzers are the core equipment for green hydrogen production, and the global electrolyzer industry is booming, especially the Chinese market has become a global leader. According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), by the end of 2022, more than 1.4GW of electrolyzers will be installed worldwide, of which China and Europe account for 30% of the market share respectively, the United States and Canada account for about 10% in total, and the remaining 30% of the market share is distributed in other regions. Considering the low-carbon hydrogen production plans previously announced by various countries, it can be inferred that the number of electrolyzers installed still has considerable room for improvement. It is expected that by 2030, the total installed capacity of electrolyzers worldwide will fluctuate between 175 and 420GW. It is worth mentioning that the global installed capacity of electrolyzers has ushered in a period of rapid growth in the past three years. In 2023, the total installed capacity of electrolyzers in the world has exceeded 2GW, among which the total installed capacity of electrolyzers in China and Europe during this period has attracted worldwide attention.
In addition, the technical routes of electrolyzers mainly include alkaline electrolyzers, PEM, AEM, SOEC, etc., among which the technical maturity and commercialization of alkaline electrolyzers and PEM are relatively high. Among the above technical routes, alkaline electrolyzers have obvious advantages in terms of input costs, so their installed capacity is far ahead of other technical routes. As for the two technologies of SOEC and AEM, they are currently in the early stages of commercialization, and the technical maturity overseas is generally higher than that in China. In the overseas market, SOEC has entered the mid-term stage of commercialization, while in the Chinese market, SOEC is still in the research and development and demonstration stage, and there is still a big gap in the industrialization process compared with foreign countries. For example, the scale of the single system can only reach hundreds of kilowatts at most, and it is impossible to start and stop operations multiple times. As for AEM electrolysis technology, only some European and American manufacturers have made certain breakthroughs in this field.
Regarding the integrity of the alkaline electrolyzer industry chain, in comparison, the core components of the PEM industry chain have greater room for domestic substitution. In the alkaline electrolyzer industry chain, the links such as plates, sealing gaskets, and hydrogen production power sources have been fully localized, but the diaphragm is the key component with the lowest degree of localization. At present, the PPS diaphragm mainly used by China’s equipment enterprises is monopolized by Japan’s Toray Corporation, and the new composite diaphragm is still in the commercial verification stage. As for the core components and materials of the PEM electrolyzer industry chain, such as PEM membranes, catalysts, gas diffusion layers, etc., their import dependence is relatively high.
The world’s major electrolyzer manufacturers are planning to expand their production capacity layout, and at the same time, they have attracted companies in fields such as wind power, solar energy, petrochemicals and hydrogen fuel cells to enter this field, showing a trend of diversified development of the electrolyzer industry. At present, China has become an important base for global electrolyzer manufacturing, and its overall production capacity is far greater than that of other countries. As of 2023, the global nominal capacity of electrolyzers has reached 58 gigawatts (GW), of which China accounts for 38 GW, accounting for as much as 66%. It is worth noting that Chinese electrolyzer manufacturers mainly use alkaline technology routes, and the production capacity of such products accounts for about 70% of the total global alkaline electrolyzer capacity. In Europe, the costs of PEM and alkaline technology routes are quite close, so both technology routes are widely used, and their device capacity is second only to China.
Hydrogen production by electrolysis of water is the most advantageous method for producing hydrogen. Utrasonic coating systems are ideal for spraying carbon-based catalyst inks onto electrolyte membranes used for hydrogen generation. This technology can improve the stability and conversion efficiency of the diaphragm in the electrolytic water hydrogen production device. Cheersonic has extensive expertise coating proton exchange membrane electrolyzers, creating uniform, effective coatings possible for electrolysis applications.
Cheersonic ultrasonic coating systems are used in a number of electrolysis coating applications. The high uniformity of catalyst layers and even dispersion of suspended particles results in very high efficiency electrolyzer coatings, either single or double sided.
About Cheersonic
Cheersonic is the leading developer and manufacturer of ultrasonic coating systems for applying precise, thin film coatings to protect, strengthen or smooth surfaces on parts and components for the microelectronics/electronics, alternative energy, medical and industrial markets, including specialized glass applications in construction and automotive.
Our coating solutions are environmentally-friendly, efficient and highly reliable, and enable dramatic reductions in overspray, savings in raw material, water and energy usage and provide improved process repeatability, transfer efficiency, high uniformity and reduced emissions.
Chinese Website: Cheersonic Provides Professional Coating Solutions
