Popular Mechanics Awards 2006 Breakthrough Award to GE Global Research for Its Advanced Hydrogen Electrolyzer

Energy Resource, Oct 5, 2006

ENERGY RESOURCE-5 October 2006-Popular Mechanics Awards 2006 Breakthrough Award to GE Global Research for Its Advanced Hydrogen Electrolyzer(C)2006 JeraOne - http://www.jeraone.com

GE Global Research, the centralized research organization of the General Electric Company, has been awarded Popular Mechanics magazine's 2006 Breakthrough Award for its development of an advanced hydrogen electrolyzer.

GE's electrolyzer, which was developed by a research team at Global Research led by Richard Bourgeois, was recognized for its potential to make hydrogen production by water electrolysis economically feasible.

The U.S. Department of Energy has identified electrolyzer capital costs as a major barrier to the competitiveness of hydrogen fuel for transportation. GE's electrolyzer has the potential to bring the cost of producing hydrogen down to a level that is competitive with the current price of gasoline.

Electrolyzers, when coupled with wind, solar or nuclear power, produce hydrogen from water with no CO2 emissions.

The awards program, initiated last year, recognizes valuable work in science and technology that can play a critical role in improving lives, expanding knowledge and building a better future.

"GE's electrolyzer represents a profound breakthrough in hydrogen energy that has the potential to greatly expand the possibilities in realizing cleaner, more affordable energy solutions, said James Meigs, editor-in-chief, Popular Mechanics magazine. "We were impressed as much with the technology's potential impact as we were with the creativity of design that enabled the breakthrough itself. We applaud GE for this extraordinary achievement."

Today, producing hydrogen by water electrolysis costs at least $8 per kg including capital, energy, and operating costs. GE participated in a program with the U.S. Department of Energy that has the goal of bringing the cost to under $3. By lowering costs on the capital side, GE researchers are confident this goal can be met.

GE researchers have figured out a more cost-effective way to build it by replacing most of the metal parts in the electrolyzer stack, which is the main part of the system, with parts made of a GE-invented plastic called Noryl.

"GE's electrolyzer is a true breakthrough technology that could accelerate advancements toward the hydrogen economy," Kelly Fletcher, Advanced Technology Leader, Sustainable Energy Programs, GE Global Research," said. "We're thrilled that Popular Mechanics has recognized Global Research with this prestigious award. It is a great tribute to the hard work and ingenuity that our entire electrolyzer team has brought to this project.

"The core issue with producing hydrogen from electrolyzers is that the economics are not there. They are too expensive to build, so we set out in our program to attack the capital costs," Fletcher added.

According to Fletcher, GE's Noryl can be manufactured less expensively and exhibits the properties that are needed to function in an electrolyzer. Noryl is also "very resistant" to the strong alkaline solution, which is used as an electrolyte in the system.

To date, GE researchers have built and tested an electrolyzer big enough to make a kilogram of hydrogen per hour. A kilogram of hydrogen has about the same energy content as a gallon of gasoline.

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