Oxford nanoSystems advances green hydrogen technology with commissioning of demonstration plant

This achievement builds upon successful lab-scale testing of the company’s nanoFLUX electrode coating by multiple industry-leading electrolyser manufacturers. The facility OnS for further in depth and extended evaluation of its nanoFLUX coating by select partners under fully representative conditions.

The commissioning of the demonstration plant represents a key step forward for OnS, and reflects the success of the first stage of testing by industry partners. Referring to these tests, the CTO of a leading European electrolyser manufacturer said “Our lab tests have shown that the OnS coating provides a significant improvement in performance relative to Raney nickel electrodes.”

This new demonstration plant allows the company to coat parts for testing in electrolysers that are similar in scale to those used in commercial systems. This progresses beyond successful lab-scale trials, enabling a comprehensive evaluation of the coating’s performance under fully representative operating conditions and at a commercially relevant scale. The facility will also enable OnS to demonstrate the operation of its coating process using plant and equipment suitable for final production.

An advanced metallic-alloy coating applied to the electrodes, nanoFLUX promotes the formation and release of gas bubbles within the electrolyser. This innovative structured coating has been combined with a proprietary catalyst to accelerate the hydrogen generation reaction. OnS’ proprietary coating boosts the hydrogen production capacity of alkaline electrolysers by over 50 percent and at a significantly lower cost than current state-of-the-art Raney nickel coatings. An independent assessment conducted by E4Tech (part of the ERM Group), a leading international consulting firm focused on sustainable energy technologies, has confirmed the breakthrough cost-benefit advantage provided by nanoFLUX.

The green hydrogen industry is poised for exponential growth, with forecasts indicating a projected installed capacity of over 100 GW by 2030, representing a 1000 percent increase within a decade. OnS is at the forefront of driving this transformation by offering a solution which provides a major leap towards bringing down the cost of producing green hydrogen.

“The commissioning of our demonstration plant is a crucial step in our efforts to contribute to the development of green hydrogen technology,” said Dr Ian Russell, CEO of OnS. “Lab tests carried out by our OEM partners have confirmed the performance benefits of our nanoFLUX technology. We are now poised to demonstrate that these benefits can be delivered at scale – both in terms of electrolyser systems and production processes.”

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Oxford nanoSystems (OnS)