Aarhus Universitets segl

Projects

Funding Source

REACT-EU

Partners

  • Advanced Surface Plating (PI)

Description

The vision of the "H2-LEAN" project is to support efficient scalable electrode production for alkaline electrolysis and build an agile R&D centre for electrode development, thus contributing to future hydrogen production becoming more efficient and cheaper and ensuring that new technology comes to market faster. This project helps to reduce the LCOH (Levelised Cost Of Hydrogen) and will contribute significantly to the green transition in the market from 2024/2025.

The entire green hydrogen industry is still emerging and many technological and process innovations are needed to make the industry competitive. This applies to hydrogen buyers, hydrogen producers and OEM suppliers. Processes, management concepts and IT systems must be built to make production and development work efficient and scalable. In popular parlance, the hydrogen industry is where the wind turbine industry was some 20 years ago. 

This project focuses on introducing new production processes, data collection and installation of a new test/performance test platform to build a Lean-based and scalable electrode production unit and R&D centre with an agile product development concept with short development cycles.

Project budget: 0.99 million EUR

Status:                             Running

Start/end date:              2022 → 2023

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  1. H2-Anode

    Anders Bentien

    The objective of this project is to improve the efficiency of alkaline electrolysis.

    Project budget: 1.1 million EUR

    Funding Source
    Eurostars III - Call 3
    Beskrivelse

    01/01-202331/12-2025

  2. Low-cost H2 production by high-performing alkaline water electrolysis

    Anders Bentien

    Hydrogen is envisioned to become a key enabler and energy carrier in the future 100% renewable energy system with predicted applications within transportation, grid stability, industry, re-electrification, etc. The current Low-Cost Hydrogen project (LC-H2) has a game changing, break-through potential in the field of green hydrogen accelerating the entire PtX market. The project aims to validate/demonstrate electrolyser current density of 400 mA/cm2@1.6V and improve the efficiency of Alkaline Water Electrolyser (AWE) cell from today state-of-the-art of 63% energy conversion efficiency to 77%. The new inventions will make it possible to double the current density from 200mA/cm2 to 400mA/cm2 for the stack and thereby reduce the electrolyser stack CAPEX by a factor of two. Modelling technique and neutron imaging will be used for eliminating inflow/outflow bottlenecks in the cell supporting further optimization of the cell efficiency – especially at high current densities.
    In short, the LC-H2 project will make improvements to the key components of the alkaline electrolyzer stack for green hydrogen to be able to compete with hydrogen from fossil sources and thereby pave the way for a society based on 100% renewable energy.

    Project budget: 1.9 million EUR

    Funding Source
    Innovation Foundation Denmark – Grand Solutions

    Beskrivelse

    01/01-202331/12-2025

  3. Performance Boosting of operating alkaline electrolysers by novel in situ electrode activation method

    Anders Bentien

    The overall objective of the US/DK network on technologies for the green transition (UD-Tech) is to fast-track the green transition by enabling some of the world’s leading research institutions in Denmark and US on fuel cells, batteries and electrolysis/Power-to-X (PtX) to further the access to the latest knowledge, highly specialized competencies and talent by facilitating a network on energy research.


    Project budget: 2.0 million EUR

    Funding Source
    Energy Development & Demonstration Projects (EUDP)

    Beskrivelse

    01/01-202331/12-2024

  4. US/DK network on technologies for the green transition (UD-Tech)

    Anders Bentien

    The overall objective of the US/DK network on technologies for the green transition (UD-Tech) is to fast-track the green transition by enabling some of the world’s leading research institutions in Denmark and US on fuel cells, batteries and electrolysis/Power-to-X (PtX) to further the access to the latest knowledge, highly specialized competencies and talent by facilitating a network on energy research.



    Project budget: 0.13 million EUR

    Funding Source
    Eurostars III - Call 3

    Beskrivelse

    01/01-202331/12-2024

  5. Development of novel test methods for improving the fundamental understanding of hydrogen and oxygen formation in alkaline electrolysis

    Anders Bentien

    Description
    The Ph.D project “Development of Novel Test Methods for Improved Fundamental
    Understanding of Hydrogen and Oxygen Formation in Alkaline Electrolysis” focuses
    on research, technology development and innovation regarding the test of
    electrodes used for production of “green” hydrogen. The project is carried out at
    Advanced Surface Plating, which is a company focusing on development and large-
    scale production of high-efficient electrodes for alkaline electrolysis. Production of
    cost competitive and more energy efficient electrodes is a necessity for advancing
    the field of renewable energy such as PtX solutions.
    During the project, the Ph.D candidate will improve the fundamental understanding
    of both the hydrogen (HER) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER) via development
    of test cells operated at industrial relevant conditions. Furthermore, the HER and
    OER are studied by neutron and x-ray imaging techniques, providing a 3D mapping
    of the HER and OER within the porous nickel electrodes.


    Project budget: 0.15 mio EUR

    Funding Source
    Industrial PhD – Innovation Foundation Denmark

    Beskrivelse

    01/10-202230/09-2025

  6. High-performance electrodes for alkaline electrolysis

    Anders Bentien

    Description
    The PhD project “High-performance electrodes for alkaline electrolysis” is focused
    on fundamental research, technology development and innovation in the green
    segment. The PhD project will be made at Advanced Surface Plating (ASP), which is
    building up R&D facilities, necessary infrastructure, and large-scale electrode
    production (>16,000 m2/year). Cost-competitive production of green hydrogen,
    from renewable resources, is mandatory to facilitate exploration of different PtX
    solutions. The PhD candidate will develop high-performing electrodes enabling
    hydrogen and oxygen formation at a lower overpotentials


    Project budget: 0.15 mio EUR

    Funding Source
    Industrial PhD – Innovation Foundation Denmark

    Beskrivelse

    01/10-202230/09-2025

  7. Agile R&D processes and Lean Electrode Production for alkaline electrolysis

    Anders Bentien

    Description
    The vision of the "H2-LEAN" project is to support efficient scalable electrode production for alkaline electrolysis and build an agile R&D centre for electrode development, thus contributing to future hydrogen production becoming more efficient and cheaper and ensuring that new technology comes to market faster. This project helps to reduce the LCOH (Levelised Cost Of Hydrogen) and will contribute significantly to the green transition in the market from 2024/2025.
    The entire green hydrogen industry is still emerging and many technological and process innovations are needed to make the industry competitive. This applies to hydrogen buyers, hydrogen producers and OEM suppliers. Processes, management concepts and IT systems must be built to make production and development work efficient and scalable. In popular parlance, the hydrogen industry is where the wind turbine industry was some 20 years ago.
    This project focuses on introducing new production processes, data collection and installation of a new test/performance test platform to build a Lean-based and scalable electrode production unit and R&D centre with an agile product development concept with short development cycles.


    Project budget: 0.99 million EUR

    Funding Source
    REACT-EU

    Beskrivelse

    01/06-202231/08-2023

  8. Nettilsluttede Hybridbatterier

    Anders Bentien

    At udføre forstudie af et nettilsluttet Li-ion/Flow hybridbatteri.

    Målet med projektet er at foretage indledende
    •undersøgelse af forretningsmodeller for nettilsluttede hybridbatterier
    •optimering af dimensionering af hybridbatteri (kapacitet/effekt)
    •beskrivelse af arkitektur (power-elektronik, el-diagrammer for hybridisering, evt. fysisk opbygning af containere)
    •beskrivelse af styring/kontrol af hybridbatteriet
    Det overordnede formål er skabe grundlag for en Go/NoGo beslutning omkring opbygning/demonstration af et hybridt batteri på stor skala.

    Project budget: 53 kEUR

    Funding Source
    Energy Cluster Denmark
    Partners

    Beskrivelse

    01/06-202201/06-2023

  9. Dual circuit flow battery for hydrogen and value added chemical production

    Anders Bentien

    DualFlow develops a radically new energy conversion and storage concept that combines water electrolysis, battery storage and co-production of decarbonized chemicals into one single hybrid technology using water soluble redox mediators as energy transfer vectors.

    The system can be operated for electricity storage or for energy conversion to hydrogen and value added chemicals. During energy storage operation, the system works as a conventional stationary flow battery. The energy conversion starts when the battery is full but there is abundant inexpensive green electricity available. Now the battery is chemically discharged in a mediated electrolysis to produce hydrogen and value added chemicals. The energy conversion is realized by pumping charged battery electrolytes through reactors. For hydrogen production, reactor is filled with catalytic particles to catalyze electron transfer and hydrogen evolution. For value added chemical production the reactor consists of biphasic system where charged electrolyte oxidizes chemicals in an organic phase. The reaction products are then extracted into the organic phase. The energy conversion operation requires only reactors and catalyst for hydrogen evolution, indicating that the additive costs of the dual circuit is minimal. The concept results in flexible system capable of both energy storage and energy conversion to hydrogen. We strongly believe that this concept offers possibilities to produce inexpensive hydrogen, in a flexible manner without utilizing any critical raw materials.

    Project budget: 3.00 mio EUR

    Funding Source
    European Innovation Council – Pathfinder Challenges

    Beskrivelse

    01/03-202231/12-2026

  10. Hybrid Electrochemical System for Electricity & Hydrogen Storage

    Anders Bentien

    Project is related to research in a radically new energy conversion and storage concept that combines water electrolysis and battery storage into one single hybrid technology using soluble redox mediators as storage vectors.
    The ultimate goal of the project is to solve some of the fundamental challenges of the technology, make lab-scale proof-of-concept demonstration and pave the way for future upscaling/realisation of the technology. If successful the project is a potential game-changer within cost-efficient electricity storage and hydrogen production.

    Project budget: 0.82 mio EUR

    Funding Source
    Independent Research Fund Denmark

    Beskrivelse

    01/01-202231/12-2025

  11. Danish - Korean cooperation on redox flow battery development for energy storage

    Anders Bentien

    DanKoBat aims at providing a commercial breakthrough for vanadium flow redox batteries (VFRB) by developing a novel and more cost effective membrane compared to the available commercial products. VRFB are foreseen to be a dominant solution to electrical energy storage (EES) challenges worldwide.
    Project budget: 1.5 mio EUR
    Funding Source
    EUREKA - Innovation Foundation Denmark.
    Beskrivelse

    31/12-202131/12-2023

  12. UNIBAT : Universal Organic Redox Active Materials for Stationary Batteries

    Anders Bentien

    Description
    To complete the green transition significant expansion of energy storage facilities are needed and includes batteries for stationary electricity storage. Due to relatively high cost and environmental issues of state-of-the-art Li ion batteries there is a clear incentive to develop new environmental benign, low cost and long life time batteries.
    The project will investigate organic redox active materials as anodes in combination with transition metal proton intercalation materials as cathodes. A novel high risk-high gain aspect of the project is development of two-phase batteries. Here the liquid and water immiscible properties of some of the organic redox active molecules is combined with a transition metal based cathode in aqueous phase to form a high energy density and separator free battery. Additionally, an approach with less risk will also be followed. Here redox active polymers as an alternative to the liquid redox organics will be used in all-aqueous proton batteries.


    Project budget: 0.83 mio EUR

    Funding Source
    Independent Research Fund Denmark

    Beskrivelse

    01/07-202130/06-2025

  13. Long term chemical stability of vanadium flow batteries

    Anders Bentien

    The project is focused on increasing the fundamental understanding of long term (> years) chemical stability of liquid vanadium solutions in flow batteries. Because of the usage of the same solution in both half cells, vanadium cross-over in the stack has no damaging effect and Vanadium Flow Batteries (VFBs) are considered to have infinite lifetime. However, in practice there are three reversible mechanisms that can degrade the chemical integrity of VFBs and lead to capacity loss over time: (1) external oxidation, (2) vanadium/volumetric crossover and (3) temperature stability.

    Through lab-scale proof-of concept, the goal is to quantify these mechanisms and develop new methods that would reverse the degradation. Additionally, in co-operation with VisBlue, the aim is to implement these methods in real battery systems.

    Project budget: 0.15 mio EUR

    Funding Source



    Industrial
    PhD – Innovation Foundation Denmark


    Beskrivelse

    01/03-202129/02-2024

  14. Scaleup of redox flow batteries

    Anders Bentien

    The project is on rechargeable batteries for large scale energy storage, where a solution of vanadium is used to hold the energy. A danish produced stack (battery assembly) will be developed, and a system will be demonstrated where 100 kWh of power can be stored. The idea is to ude the system for storage of renewable energy from wind turbines etc.

    Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) is a promising technology for renewable energy storage and load balancing. Applications include domestic and local load balancing of photovaltaics. By scale-up of the modular technology, VRFB systems will be very suitable for energy storage on the level of wind turbines and for grid balancing (MW/MWh scale).

    The project RED-BATS will scale-up VRFB stacks from 5 to 25 kW to establish compatibility with large system (MW) and increase efficiency and reduce cost of ownership of systems.

    At 25 kW/100 kWh range system will be demonstrated. It is the ambition to establish a Danish production of RFB stacks and systems at VisBlue in Aarhus, as well as to expand a competitive Danish supply-chain for VFB key components.


    Project budget: 2.4 mio EUR
    Funding Source
    Energy Development & Demonstration Projects (EUDP)


    The project RED-BATS will scale-up VRFB stacks from 5 to 25 kW to establish compatibility with large system (MW) and increase efficiency and reduce cost of ownership of systems.

    At 25 kW/100 kWh range system will be demonstrated. It is the ambition to establish a Danish production of RFB stacks and systems at VisBlue in Aarhus, as well as to expand a competitive Danish supply-chain for VFB key components.
    Beskrivelse

    01/03-202131/12-2023

  15. Redox Mediated Microbial CO2 Reduction

    Anders Bentien

    The ReMeSh project is related to investigation of a new concept that we term Redox Mediated Microbial CO2 Reduction. It will combine electrochemical flow cells known from water electrolyser/flow batteries, to efficiently reduce a water soluble organic redox mediator. The mediator is subsequently pumped into a microbial reactor where protons/electrons are transferred to the microbes that reduces CO2 to form methane. Compared to the state-of-the-art, the concept has the potential to surpass the conversion turnover several orders of magnitude and if the ReMeSh project is successful could constitute a milestone in microbial CO2 reduction/Power-to-X.

    Project budget: 0.66 mio EUR

    Funding Source
    Exploratory Interdisciplinary Synergy Programme – Novo Nordic Foundation

    Beskrivelse

    01/01-202101/08-2023

  16. High efficiency membranes and stacks for flow batteries

    Anders Bentien

    Funding Source: Innovation Foundation Denmark.

    Partners
    • Department of Biological & Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University (PI)
    • Blue World Technologies
    • Visblue
    • DTU Energy
    • The Korean Institute of Science and Technology

    Description
    The main objective is to pave the way for a future generation of low-cost stationary redox flow batteries for storage of renewable electricity that will enable the levelised-cost-of-electricity-storage below the €0.05/kWh/cycle. This is considered to be a threshold for disruptive breakthrough of stationary batteries which will be a key component for the transition to a fully renewable based energy system. This highly collaborative project leverages the know-how of two Danish SMEs (DPS and VisBlue) combined with that of leading academic groups in Denmark (AU and DTU) and Korea (KIST) to make PBI based membranes a key material to create a low-cost high-performance stack for VisBlue’s systems.

    Project budget: 2 mio EUR
    Beskrivelse

    01/01-202001/06-2023

  17. Grid Connected Flow Batteries

    Anders Bentien

    The energy network of the future will be much more decentralised than at present, where large heat and power plants provide the coverage. This can potentially overload local grids that are not designed for the modern form of energy production. Flow batteries can be the solution.Beskrivelse

    01/01-201731/12-2019

  18. Electrogas

    Lars Ditlev Mørck Ottosen , Anders Bentien & Henrik Bjarne Møller

    Partners: AU, University of Southern Denmark, Standford University, University of Southern California, University of QueenslandBeskrivelse

    01/01-201519/04-2024