The TISPA project aims to develop and optimize alternatives to conventional titanium-based components in proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysers (WE). The main objectives are cost and material savings. TiSPA covers the entire value chain from the processing of the base materials and their coating through to their use in the electrolysis stack. Individual cell tests on a laboratory scale are also planned for plausibility tests and to enable a larger parameter range for the materials to be tested. The central aim of the project is to reduce the titanium content in the bipolar plates (BPP) and the precious metal content in their coatings in PEMWE stacks while maintaining or increasing efficiency and lifetime. Two different industrially applied stack structures are considered independently of each other: on the one hand, these are stack structures that use a structured bipolar plate including a flow field and, on the other hand, structures that use a planar bipolar plate with an additional expanded metal grid underneath for water distribution. By demonstrating the suitability of the approaches pursued here for both setups in the form of real electrolysis stacks, the scope of the project is increased. In TISPA, alternatives to titanium as base materials for bipolar plates, such as stainless steel or copper, alone or in combination with precious metalreduced to precious metal-free protective and contact layers, are evaluated for their suitability for operation in a PEM water electrolysis stack. Within the project, the Institute for Solar Energy Research GmbH (ISFH) is developing novel, precious metal-reduced and precious metal-free protective and contact layers for bipolar plates in PEM water electrolysis stacks. In addition, these novel bipolar plates will be characterized in terms of materials science and within electrolysis test cells at ISFH.
Contact
Dr. Dominic Walter
