Renewable electricity production has developed enormously in recent decades and has since become the lowest-cost option. One of the main challenges concerns the integration of these time-unstable production sources into the electricity supply network ("grid"), while avoiding peak production destabilizing this network. Local sources of renewable electricity, such as wind farms, generate local "hot spots" where they connect to the grid, creating extreme challenges for grid stability.

There is therefore a need not only to transport electrical energy in the form of electrical power, but also to convert it locally into chemical energy. Conversion to hydrogen is a promising track, as it is the most reliable storage technology on a large scale, due to 1) the limited investment cost per kWh compared to batteries, 2) the fact that the storage cost can be decoupled from the conversion capacity, and 3) in addition to the re-electrification of the stored energy, it also offers alternative application possibilities, it is not only an energy carrier but also a building block for the chemical sector.

This project aims at innovations at the heart of the electrolysis cell, through the use of nano-structured materials that result in efficient and high-performance electrolysis components that can convert electrical energy into hydrogen at a low cost. The planned innovations in the field of electrodes and membranes will reduce the production cost of hydrogen and enable MW scale electrolysis installations.

Alkaline electrolysis is currently a proven technology, but the limitations in terms of power density mean a high investment cost for further upscaling. The PEM technology provides a higher power density, but requires an even higher investment cost due to the need for precious metals such as electrocatalysts. H2-MHytic will develop an electrolysis cell based on a new non-porous, nano-material based, ion-conducting "HEM" membrane. In addition, nanomesh electrodes with an extremely high porosity and internal surface will also be integrated. The integration of these components will result in a new type of electrolysis cell with unique properties, which can be manufactured on the basis of industrially scalable production techniques.