A research team led by Dr. Kim Chang-hee of Hydrogen Research Department of Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER, President: Kim Jong-nam) succeeded in developing 'water electrolysis stacks available to respond to load variations' that allow a safe and high-efficiency hydrogen production from highly variable and intermittent renewable energy including PV and wind power.

Specifically, the research team developed electrodes and separator membrane on their own that maintained a high durability and efficiency with the supply of highly variable and intermittent renewable energy, and modularized the water electrolysis system by using this stack technology.

The team improved the precise control and hydrophilc properties of fine holes in the separator membrane, securing a technology to synthesize such membrane with high stability and iconic conductivity containing the formation of gaseous mixture as many as 3 times compared to its counterpart released on the market (Zirfon UTP500, Agfa), while maintaining 3 times higher iconic conductivity. To secure the durability against load variations, the team added Mn and Cr, which have a higher reactivity than transition metals, to the electrodes for water electrolysis, improving the life of catalyst.

The research team explained that the amount of hydrogen production increased by over 82% with the technology and they overcame problems such as gas mixing and electrode efficiency that might arise upon changing loads so that interactive operation was available in a more wider range (5~110%).

In the meantime, KIER held a signing ceremony of the technology transfer agreement with a domestic end-user company regarding 'water electrolysis stacks available to respond to load variations' at its head office in Daejeon.