Chinese H2 module manufacturer LONGi has unveiled new line of alkaline electrolyzers for global markets. The new ALK Hi1 series is claimed to benefit from lower energy consumption and high energy efficiency.
Electricity price and energy consumption per unit of hydrogen production are the two variables that contribute to the highest sensitivity of LCOH. The full-load DC power consumption of ALK Hi1 can be as low as 4.3kwh/Nm³, claims the manufacturer.
The power consumption is even lower for ALK Hi1 Plus electrolyzer, down to 4.1kwh/Nm³, in order to adapt to hydrogen production scenarios demanding higher utilization hours. It even hits 4.0kwh/Nm³ when the current density is 2500A/㎡, LONGi adds.
The company claims that the full-load DC power consumption of the global electrolyzed water hydrogen production industry, including alkaline water hydrogen production technology (ALK) and proton exchange membrane electrolysis water (PEM) power, is basically in the range of 4.5-4.6kwh/Nm³.
If the price of renewable electricity is reduced to 2 cents a KWh and the DC power consumption reaches 4.3kwh/Nm³, it costs one dollar per piece of hydrogen, which is almost close to the cost of hydrogen from coal, and even lower than the 2023 target set by Europe and the United States, LONGI says.
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Li Zhenguo, Founder and President of LONGi, said that solar power has become the world's most economical clean energy, and "photovoltaic hydrogen production" is a real "duel-clean" energy solution. "LONGi Hydrogen, adheres to the "First Principles" to carry out scientific and technological exploration, and is dedicated to becoming a world-leading large-scale green hydrogen production equipment and solution provider", he added.
The new range of hydrogen electrolyzers have passed empirical testing, and their performance has been certified by third-party authorities such as Det Norske Veritas and DEKRA Testing and Certification (Shanghai) Ltd., and measured in accordance with the national standard of GB-32311-2015. The ALK Hi1 series products are rated to have the level 1 energy efficiency of hydrogen production system, as per the manufacturer's claim.
LONGi ALK Hi1 series products have the characteristics of high efficiency and high profit capacity, which means reduction of DC power consumption by more than 10 percent, and the LCOH of hydrogen production in different scenarios will be greatly cut down.
That is, for 0.1kwh/Nm³'s reduction in hydrogen production DC power consumption, depending on the number of system utilization hours, hydrogen LCOH can be reduced by 1.8-2.2 percent, which is equivalent to a reduction of the initial investment of hydrogen production equipment by 10 to 25 percent, LONGi affirms.