Hydrogen Technologies

Sustainably produced hydrogen and derivatives will play a major role as future energy carriers, as they can be transported and stored in existing infrastructure. Replacing fossil fuels across various sectors and applications will depend on providing optimized upstream syngas compositions and enabling efficient straightforward downstream implementation.

The innovative High-Temperature Near-Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (HT-NAP-XPS) brings conventional XPS to a new dimension of surface science. At Fraunhofer ISE we investigate functionalized surfaces at pressures up to 25 mbar and temperatures up to 1 000 °C allowing in situ studies of reaction mechanisms and their intermediate stages – especially attractive for materials used in hydrogen technologies.

A comprehensive in-situ characterization of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and its layers in terms of performance and degradation at different operation conditions provides the basis for our customers’ decisions on suppliers, production processes, fuel cell stack designs and operation strategies.

We support our customers from the microscale up to global energy systems: We develop models and analyze materials, components, production processes, and infrastructure systems. In addition, we carry out techno- economic and life cycle assessments.

Electrolyzers are key to produce green hydrogen out of renewable energies. To support our customers in the industrialization of electrolyzers, we characterize and develop novel materials and components for membrane water electrolysis. In our projects we focus on membrane water electrolysis, either on the basis of proton exchange membranes (PEM) or on anion exchange membranes (AEM).

Efficient production of hydrogen and its derivatives requires integrated planning, design, and operation across the entire value chain. Our holistic system analysis tools, covering technological, economic, ecological, temporal and spatial dimensions, enable us to deliver tailored solutions for our partners‘ needs.