AEMION+™ - AF3-HWK9-75

Additional Information

Non Disclosure Agreement

This is a proprietary product from Ionomr, therefore, we require a signed NDA between the end customer and Ionomr before we are able to ship out the material, either for commercial use, or research.

This is done to prevent reverse engineering and public disclosure. The NDA does not restrict patenting anything, but does include the physical materials and their composition as confidential which prevents specific disclosure in a patent or otherwise but not calling out use of an AEM including Aemion by trade name. The test results are included as confidential information, and require  approval from both parties to disclose. We are not concerned about blocking any publications, but would typically advise if we believe better results can be achieved.

We have a more explicit MTA (Materials Transfer Agreement) we use with academic/research organizations which outlines more detail around materials IP and publication.

Please find the NDA here and fill it in when contacting us for quotations.

AEMION+® Anion Exchange Membranes Enable Large-scale Commercial Development

Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) is the most mature technology that has been used extensively over the past decades. In this configuration, a liquid caustic electrolyte solution, most commonly NaOH and KOH, is pumped into the system composed of electrodes separated by a porous diaphragm. While AWE is a low-cost technology owing to its propensity for cheap catalysts, it suffers from large internal resistance between the diaphragm and liquid electrolyte. It typically operates under low current densities, which consequently requires bulky stack configurations at larger scales.

To make the electrolyzer design more compact, proton exchange membranes are used instead of the liquid electrolyte in AWE. Instead of OH^– ions in AWE, H⁺ ions are the mobile carriers in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE). H⁺ ions exhibit significantly better ionic conductivity than OH^–, which makes the achieved efficiency of PEMWE higher than that of AWE. On top of that, the more compact design of PEMWE makes it able to operate even under high current densities. The caveat? Since PEMWE operates under highly acidic conditions, the catalysts that can be used are often limited to platinum group metals, increasing the CAPEX and OPEX of PEMWEs. 

This has got scientists and engineers thinking. We should have a technology that combines the advantages of AWE and PEMWE, a technology that enables a compact configuration and does not require the use of PGM metal catalysts. Alkaline anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AAEMWE) is an emerging technology that uses an anion exchange membrane, therefore, bridging the possibility of using low-cost catalysts while maintaining a compact, zero-gap water electrolyzer structure.

At their current scale, the CAPEX of AWE and PEMWE are way above the targets set by the US Department of Energy. Low CAPEX water electrolysis systems like AAEMWE makes it possible for green hydrogen production technologies to become more competitive against the traditional steam reforming process. Following this thought, developing high-performance and stable alkaline anion exchange membranes facilitates the growth of a sustainable hydrogen economy. 

 

In the white paper, “Hydrogen Production Cost by AEMION+®,” the investment costs of AEMWE systems at scales comparable to those of the most recent industrial-scale AWE and PEMWE deployments. The investment costs of five water electrolyzer configurations were compared.

At 1 MW scale, the investment costs for AWE ($1279/kW) and PEMWE ($1168/kW) systems are quite similar. Meanwhile, the costs for AEMWE systems using AEMION+® are considerably lower at   $931/kW and  $926/kW without and with PGM catalysts. At a larger economy of scale, at 5 MW, the costs for all five technologies were all lower. More importantly, the costs for the AEMWE systems are still the lowest ($444/kW and  $459/kW).

Without a doubt, the pathway towards low cost and sustainable water electrolysis is possible with further developments in AEMWE technologies. Using Ionomr Innovations' Aemion+TM membrane, AEM stability has increased to the point where large-scale commercial development is possible, and performance may be improved based on a stable platform to approach PEMWE. Ionomr is partnering with industry players and research institutes throughout the world to scale up this technology and thoroughly evaluate its durability and performance in order to demonstrate AEMWE's value proposition for the provision of energy-efficient and low-cost green hydrogen. 

Zero Degradation Found in Latest Test of Aemion+® Alkaline Membrane, Exceeds 2024 Targets

Background

A large-format electrolyzer with an active area of 50 cm² was assembled using Aemion+® membranes and high-quality alkaline electrodes that have an extended lifespan of up to 20 years. Using these high-quality electrodes allows the assessment of membrane durability without being influenced by the catalyst layer.

The current trial has been ongoing for 2500 hours at the 2024 EU target current density (0.6 A/cm²). The current testing phase builds upon previous durability assessments conducted on Aemion+® membranes. These membranes have successfully operated for over 7500 hours, experiencing minimal system degradation of less than 0.6% per 1000 hours after the initial break-in period, and a total degradation rate of 1.2% per 1000 hours. Furthermore, they have maintained membrane integrity with less than 0.05% measurable degradation per 1000 hours.

Results

The test results revealed remarkably low degradation rates for the electrolyzer, setting a new standard for anion exchange membrane (AEM) technology. This marks the first successful demonstration of stability for anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWE) under real-world conditions crucial for large-scale hydrogen production. The cells exhibited no detectable membrane degradation (less than 0.05%), with total system degradation rates (including membrane, catalyst, and flow field) of less than 0.4% per 1000 hours. These results significantly surpass the target set by the EU’s Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking Work Programme 2022, which aimed for a measurable system degradation rate of 0.9% per 1000 hours by 2024.

Additionally, most of the system degradation stemmed from the electrodes or the porous metal components responsible for gas and liquid transport. To address this, the porous metal element was removed in the current test, resulting in improved outcomes. Ionomr continues its optimization efforts in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as part of the Shell GCxN program. According to Shaun Alia, a staff scientist at NREL, Ionomr membrane electrode assemblies achieved over 1 A/cm2 at 2 V in a hydroxide electrolyte, eliminating the need for iridium with a nonprecious metal anode. These assemblies maintained performance without losses after over 500 hours of operation. This recent durability data builds upon Ionomr's prior success in demonstrating Aemion+® stability in concentrated potassium hydroxide solutions.

For more details, check the latest press release of IONOMR on the stability of AEMION® membranes here.

AEMION+ ® Reinforced Membranes Thickness and Reinforcement Properties

AEMION+ ® Reinforced Membranes Handling, Storage, and Pre-treatment Instructions

Delivery and Initial Condition
Membranes are delivered in the dry, chloride/iodide form. Depending on specific applications and cell designs, assembly may be possible in either the dry form (without pre-treatment) or the wet form (with pre-treatment). The membrane should be exchanged into the ionic form it will operate in while assembled into the cell.
 
Pretreatment when used in Water Electrolyzers
For optimal results in water electrolysis, prior to use, AF3-HWK9-75 membranes should be removed from the backer and placed first in a large excess of aqueous 1M KCl for 24 hours. The film is then to be removed from the salt solution and placed in a large excess of aqueous 1M KOH solution for 24 hours. These exchanges should be done at ambient temperature. As a reference, 2L of each solution is adequate for a film size of 10 cm by 10 cm. Please scale accordingly.
 
Pretreatment when used in Fuel Cells
For fuel cell applications, soaking for at least 24 hours and 36-48 hours is recommended. Exchange into KOH first may be beneficial for other ion-exchanges such as into the sulfate form.
 
Mounting the Membrane
It is preferable that the membrane then be mounted wet, as differential stresses due to dimensional changes may occur upon drying.

Removal of the Membranes from the Backing Layer

Primary Method

1. With clean gloved hands, hold the membrane on its backing layer.
   
   
2. Take your thumb or a finger and rub against the corner edge of the membrane to produce separation from the backing layer.
   
   
3. Once corner separation from the backing layer is achieved, carefully and gently, begin to pull the membrane from the backing layer whilst holding the membrane down on a clean dry surface.
   
   
4. As the backing layer is released, support the membrane as you continuously remove it from the backing layer until all of the membrane has been removed.

Secondary Method

1. With clean gloves, wet a portion of the membrane/backing layer edge with deionized water; this should aid in separation of the membrane from the backing layer. Repeat the steps in the primary method.
   
   
2. If the membrane does not separate upon initial wetting, spritz a small amount of water area close to the edge of the membrane and repeat the primary method.