WIND-COUPLED H2
WIND-COUPLED H2Our NiCo Electrode for Wind-to-Hydrogen
Wind power produces rapid ramps and sustained troughs. Our bifunctional NiCo electrode in an AEM cell with a commercial Zirfon separator was tested under a wind-variation-derived current schedule for 100 hours. DeltaV before/after at 0.5 A/cm2 was 20 mV.
Polarization (RT vs 60 °C)
TESTBED100-hour wind-profile test
Wind-derived current schedule from 0 to 0.78 A/cm2 applied to bifunctional NiCo + commercial Zirfon for 100 hours. ΔV before/after LSV at 0.5 A/cm2: 20 mV.
Steady-load anchor
1000-hour run at 0.5 A/cm2 / 40 deg C on the same bifunctional NiCo electrode and commercial Zirfon separator: 21 uV/hr drift.
Bifunctional architecture
80 mV / 260 mV overpotential at 100 mA/cm2 (no IR correction).
Industrial current density
0.5 A/cm2 at 1.62 V at 60 deg C with bifunctional NiCo and commercial Zirfon separator.
Wind power has fast transients and sustained troughs
Wind power produces rapid output variability. Catalysts and separators that work under steady DC do not always survive the load transients. Wind-coupled hydrogen production must tolerate the full dynamic envelope.
Our bifunctional NiCo electrode on Ni foam (100 to 1000 cm2), electroless-deposited, was tested in an AEM cell with a commercial Zirfon separator (500 um) under a wind-derived current schedule. The same coated electrode operates as both HER cathode and OER anode at 80 mV and 260 mV overpotential at 100 mA/cm2 in 30 wt% KOH (no IR correction).
Run duration
Current-density range
DeltaV before/after at 0.5 A/cm2
100 hours of wind-derived cycling
Wind-speed variation data over 100 hours was sampled and converted into a current-density schedule with rapid gusts and sustained troughs ranging from 0 to 0.78 A/cm2. The schedule was applied continuously to the AEM cell with our bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides and a commercial Zirfon separator at 40 deg C in 30 wt% KOH.
After the 100-hour run, the linear-sweep polarization curve recorded before the run and the curve recorded after the run differ by only 20 mV at the 0.5 A/cm2 operating point.
Operating range for wind-coupled stacks
The 0 to 0.78 A/cm2 current-density range covered by the 100-hour wind-derived schedule reflects the operating window a direct-coupled wind electrolyzer would actually see. Linear-sweep polarization curves before and after the run overlap closely, showing that the bifunctional NiCo electrode and commercial Zirfon separator hold their operating envelope across that range.
Steady-load cross-check
Alongside the 100-hour wind run, the same bifunctional NiCo electrode and commercial Zirfon separator hold the 1000-hour steady-load run at 0.5 A/cm2 / 40 deg C with 21 uV/hr voltage drift, and the 9-day PV-derived dynamic-load run with no major changes after 9 cycles.
PV-derived current profile
9 DAYSWind-derived current profile
100 HRFrequently asked questions
Why use a bifunctional NiCo electrode for wind-to-hydrogen?
Our bifunctional NiCo electrode operates as both HER cathode and OER anode at 80 mV and 260 mV overpotential at 100 mA/cm² in 30 wt% KOH (no IR correction). For wind-to-hydrogen, using a single electrode SKU on both sides simplifies stack BOM and qualification.
What cell-level performance is published?
In a 5 cm² AEM cell with bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides and a commercial Zirfon separator (500 µm) at zero-gap, the cell logs 0.5 A/cm² at 1.81 V at room temperature (82% efficiency) and 1.62 V at 60 °C (91.4%). At 1.0 A/cm²: 2.05 V at RT and 1.79 V at 60 °C.
What is the stability baseline?
Continuous 1000-hour chronopotentiometry at 0.5 A/cm² and 40 °C in 30 wt% KOH (bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides, commercial Zirfon separator) showed voltage drift of 21 µV/hr. Before/after linear-sweep polarization curves differ by 30 mV at the operating point.
Is the electrode validated for renewable-coupled operation?
Yes. PV-irradiance-derived current schedules applied for 9 continuous days (peaks ~570 mA/cm²) and wind-variation-derived schedules for 100 hours (0 to 0.78 A/cm²) on the same cell. ΔV at 0.5 A/cm² before and after the 100-hour wind run: 20 mV.
What substrate sizes ship?
The bifunctional NiCo electrode is produced on Ni foam in the 100 to 1000 cm² size range. Bench-scale 5 cm² coupons matching the published test cell are also available so customers can reproduce numbers on their own rig before scaling up.
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