Making green hydrogen from water using electricity is one of the cleanest ways to fuel industry — but the machines that do it (electrolyzers) are expensive because they rely on rare, pricey metals like iridium and platinum. This team figured out how to build those machines using common, cheaper materials like coated stainless steel instead. They built a 25 kW working system and even connected it to a pilot plant that turns CO2 into methanol. Think of it like swapping gold wiring for copper — same job, fraction of the cost.
Green hydrogen is essential for decarbonizing heavy industry and chemical production, but current PEM electrolyzers are too expensive because they depend on precious metals like iridium and platinum, plus costly titanium components. This keeps hydrogen production costs high and blocks wider adoption. Companies that need hydrogen — for methanol, ammonia, steel, or energy storage — are stuck paying premium prices or relying on fossil-derived hydrogen with its carbon footprint.
A 25 kW pressurized PEM water electrolyzer system using coated stainless steel instead of titanium, with reduced or zero precious metal catalysts. The system was integrated and started up as confirmed by the demo deliverable, and coupled with a CO2-to-methanol pilot plant. The project delivered 25 total deliverables covering materials, components, system integration, lifecycle assessment, and recycling strategies.
If you are a hydrogen equipment maker struggling with high material costs for PEM electrolyzers — this project developed a pressurized water electrolyzer targeting 500-750 €/kW capital cost by replacing precious metal catalysts and titanium components with coated stainless steel bipolar plates and porous transport layers. The 25 kW system was integrated and tested with these cheaper components.
If you are a chemical company looking to produce green methanol from CO2 instead of fossil hydrocarbons — this project coupled its 25 kW electrolyzer with a methanol production pilot plant running on CO2 feedstock. The full chain from water electrolysis to methanol synthesis was demonstrated, offering a path to decarbonize your methanol supply.
If you are an energy company with surplus wind or solar power seeking profitable storage options — this project built a compact, flexible PEM electrolyzer designed to pair with variable renewable sources. At a target cost of 500-750 €/kW and without dependence on critical raw materials, it removes two major barriers to scaling power-to-hydrogen at your sites.
The project targeted a capital cost of 500-750 €/kW, which the consortium described as the lowest ever achieved for PEM water electrolysis. This is driven by replacing expensive platinum-group catalysts and titanium components with cheaper alternatives like coated stainless steel.
The project demonstrated a 25 kW system and conducted deep lifecycle assessment and cost evaluation specifically to ensure scale-up feasibility for large methanol industrial plants. The consortium included 7 industry partners positioned across the value chain from materials to system integration.
The project was coordinated by Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) with 12 partners across 6 countries. IP from an EU-funded RIA project is typically owned by the partners who generated it. Licensing discussions would need to go through the relevant consortium members.
A core goal was making the electrolyzer CRM-free — free of critical raw materials. The project developed electrocatalysts with reduced or zero precious metal content, and replaced titanium bipolar plates and transport layers with coated stainless steel alternatives.
The objective explicitly states the goal was to achieve the 500-750 €/kW cost target without compromising performance and durability. The project included materials recycling strategies and lifecycle assessment to validate long-term viability.
The project aligns with EU decarbonization goals and the European Green Hydrogen Strategy. Green hydrogen produced via renewable-powered electrolysis qualifies under EU taxonomy as a sustainable activity, which matters for financing and subsidies.
The PROMET-H2 consortium is unusually industry-heavy for a research project, with 7 out of 12 partners (58%) from industry, including 5 SMEs. This signals strong commercial intent. Coordinated by DLR, Germany's aerospace and energy research center, the consortium spans 6 countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Norway) with 5 research organizations providing the science backbone. The mix of SMEs and large research institutions across the full value chain — from nanomaterial synthesis to system integration to methanol production — suggests the technology was developed with manufacturing and commercialization in mind from day one.
Coordinated by DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt), Germany. Contact through SciTransfer for business introductions.
Want to explore licensing this electrolyzer technology or connecting with the PROMET-H2 team? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction and provide a detailed technology brief.
