German electrolyser manufacturer Sunfire aims to raise its alkaline electrolyser manufacturing capacity to "at least" 500 MW/yr by 2023.
The firm currently has a 40 MW/yr manufacturing capacity for alkaline electrolysers, as a result of its acquisition of the Swiss company IHT in January.
It will expand its capacity to at least 500 MW/yr by 2023, with further plans to expand to 1 GW/yr at a later stage. A final investment decision for the initial expansion will be made once it has selected a site and be subject to the acquisition of required financing. This includes approval from the European Commission for its designation as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in the hydrogen sector. The German energy ministry selected it as an IPCEI in May.
Sunfire has also been a solid oxide electrolyser cell (SOEC) manufacturer since 2010. "Thanks to its unsurpassed efficiency, SOEC will be the preferred electrolysis technology in various industries," chief executive Nils Aldag said.
But SOEC technology needs to be further developed before it can be used on an industrial scale, he said.
Scaling up its alkaline production will allow the company to satisfy the large demand of customers today, Aldag said. "We are ready for hydrogen projects on the 100MW scale," he said. It will also help reduce the cost of producing electrolysers.
SOEC electrolysis is particularly suitable in environments with industrial waste heat in the form of water steam, as the steam is efficiently broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, requiring less renewable electricity than other electrolyser technologies, Sunfire said.
Electrolyser manufacturing capacity is a potential bottleneck for hydrogen supply, the IEA said this week. There are only about 3 GW/yr of electrolyser manufacturing capacity globally, it said.
Last month, US-headquartered hydrogen firm Ohmium opened a 500 MW/yr proton-exchange membrane electrolyser plant in Bengaluru, India, with plans to scale up to 2 GW/yr by 2024.
