Port of Antwerp-Bruges installs 0.5 MW AEM electrolyser

Power to Hydrogen (P2H2) has begun installing a 0.5-megawatt anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyser at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, with commissioning scheduled for September.

The system is P2H2’s first commercial deployment of its M-Class hybrid AEM technology and uses 250-kilowatt electrolyser stacks. According to the company, it will be the first AEM installation using stacks of this size and is intended to demonstrate renewable hydrogen production under operating conditions at an industrial port.

The M-Class platform has been designed to scale to 25 megawatts for larger industrial applications. P2H2 said the system can respond to changes in renewable electricity supply in less than 50 milliseconds and operates under pressure, reducing the need for downstream compression.

The company also said its AEM technology uses materials including steel and nickel instead of the more expensive precious metals found in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers. P2H2 claims this approach can reduce capital expenditure by up to 65 per cent compared with equivalent PEM systems.

Rob Smeets, CEO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges, said: “Port of Antwerp-Bruges is a hub where ambition and action come together. By welcoming Power to Hydrogen’s commercial-scale AEM electrolyzer, we take another concrete step in supporting the demonstration of scalable, flexible technologies in Europe that are needed in Europe’s energy transition. It’s through these partnerships that we accelerate the shift toward a resilient, strong European future.”

Following commissioning, the installation is expected to provide a configuration that can be replicated for future multi-megawatt projects and allow the technology to undergo third-party validation.

The hydrogen produced will target demand from mobility and industrial users in the region. Holthausen, a supplier of industrial gases and hydrogen-powered trucks, will be the main offtaker when operations begin, while the system has been designed to serve additional customers over time.

P2H2 expects the project to generate commercial revenue during its first year of operation.

The deployment follows P2H2’s selection as the winner of the Free Electrons innovation programme in 2022. The programme required a commercial demonstration under real operating conditions, which provided a route for the project to be developed at the port’s NextGen District.

Paul Matter, CEO of Power to Hydrogen, said: “Bringing our system to the Port of Antwerp-Bruges is a tangible step toward financeable deployment: it proves we can build and ship industry-ready hardware, integrate into a live site, and commission a megawatt-class AEM platform designed for renewable load-following.”