Nel ASA entered a development partnership with SFC Energy AG to jointly develop the world’s first integrated electrolyzer and hydrogen fuel cell system for decentralized energy generation and storage. The development will be accelerated through using already mature products and technology from each respective party as basis for the integrated offering.

The partnership will focus on developing industrial solutions to replace less efficient diesel generators with more efficient systems based on hydrogen fuel cells in combination with green hydrogen production through electrolysis. Initially, SFC Energy and Nel will address applications in a power range of up to 50 kW with a daily operating time of two to ten hours which can be used as reliable emergency power generators for critical power applications. In the medium-term, the partnership is aiming to develop systems in the power range of up to 500 kW for telecom, data center and auxiliary power unit (APU) markets. The parties aim to introduce the first products to the market during the second half of 2022.

By using renewable energies such as solar or wind power, Nel's electrolyzers will produce the green hydrogen required for the entire system. This is stored in a tank. The SFC Energy hydrogen fuel cell will then convert the gas reliably and climate neutrally back into electrical energy when needed. The integrated offering has potential to replace diesel generators with a high CO₂-emissions.

"With the world's first integrated electrolyzer and hydrogen fuel cell system, we are addressing a wide range of applications such as critical and communication infrastructure as well as smart grid applications” said Dr. Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Energy