UK tech firm launches coating facility to boost hydrogen electrolyser efficiency

A UK technology company has commissioned a demonstration plant for its electrode coating technology which it says could improve alkaline electrolyser hydrogen production capacity by over 50%.

Last year, Oxford nanoSystems (OnS) revealed its metallic-alloy coating, dubbed nanoFLUX could lead to “radically” reduced hydrogen production costs.

Now, the Oxford University spin-out has developed a facility to showcase how its coatings can be applied to real-world technology and further evaluate its performance benefits.

OnS says the plant will allow it to coat parts for testing in electrolysers “similar in scale” to commercial systems with selected partners.

The coating is slated to promote the formation and release of gas bubbles, which reduces energy losses caused by insulating layers from bubble build-up on an electrolyser’s electrodes.

Speaking to H2 View last year, OnS CEO, Dr. Ian Russell, explained nanoFLUX’s “spikey” structure forms microcavities on the surface of substrates, “which increases the density of sites where bubbles can form, and the porosity of the structure promotes the release of bubbles.”

Read more: Doubling electrolyser production rates: OnS CEO discusses coating breakthrough

Russell said the commissioning of the new plant was a “crucial step” in the firm’s efforts to contribute to green hydrogen technology development.

“Lab tests carried out by our OEM partners have confirmed the performance benefit of our nanoFLUX technology,” he said. “We are now poised to demonstrate that these benefits can be delivered at scale – both in terms of electrolyser systems and production processes.”