German engineering company Singulus Technologies AG is expanding its portfolio to include products for the growing hydrogen industry. The focus is on the fuel cell and electrolyzer markets. Water electrolysis is developing into a "crucial industrial policy component," the company said.
Singulus Technologies AG, based in Kahl am Main, Germany, has entered the hydrogen market by further developing coating processes and adapting its plant technology accordingly. This was announced by the company, founded in 1995, in a press release. Among other things, Singulus intends to offer solutions for hydrogen technologies such as fuel cells and electrolysers.
Singulus CEO Dr.-Ing. Stefan Rinck:
"For the application in the production of fuel cells, we are working on the development and optimization of the coating process and equipment technology for coating metallic bipolar plates with suitable nitride and carbide protective coatings as well as other innovative processes."
In cooperation with leading European institutes, we are working on optimizing the coating processes and results in the field of hydrogen technology. We are convinced that the use of green hydrogen makes ecological sense and that the market will grow at an above-average rate."
Hydrogen market: Strong Growth
The direct or indirect use of hydrogen offers potential for the electrolysis, industrial and transport sectors, and in the long term also in power generation. The projected demand for green hydrogen electrolysis plants far exceeds the current supply.
According to a study by the German Academy of Science and Engineering, there is a need for at least 20 GW of installed electrolysis capacity for the production of hydrogen in 2030 for industry in Germany alone. The German government's National Hydrogen Strategy assumes a hydrogen demand of around 90 to 110 TWh per year by 2030 and aims to build electrolysis capacity of at least 10 GW by 2030.
Electrolysis processes vie for market dominance
Several electrolysis processes are competing in the market with their respective advantages and disadvantages depending on the field of application: alkaline, PEM or high-temperature electrolysis. The first two processes use steel or titanium bipolar plates stacked together with a membrane and gas-conducting elements. High-temperature electrolysis is based on a ceramic solid membrane.
A promising process for hydrogen production for non-uniform operation in renewable energy sources is PEM electrolysis. Due to the expected market for PEM, but also alkaline electrolyzers, Singulus' inline cathode sputtering system lends itself to their production because of its high throughput.
