Ceres MW-scale electrolyser delivers first hydrogen

Located at partner AVL’s site in Germany, the demonstrator is Ceres’ first real-world foray into hydrogen production. The device is said to now be in the final stages of commissioning, on track to reach factory acceptance testing in the coming weeks. Once signed off, the demonstrator is due to be shipped to Shell’s R&D Centre in Bangalore, India.

Based on Ceres’ longstanding fuel cell technology, the solid oxide electrolyser cell (SOEC) essentially works like a fuel cell in reverse, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. The company has spent the past several years evolving its core SteelCell product to ensure that it can operate in both directions, an advance that saw Ceres win this year’s MacRobert Award, bestowed by the RAEng for outstanding engineering innovation.

According to Ceres, its SOEC can deliver green hydrogen at <40kWh/kg, which is said to be up to 25 per cent more efficient than existing technologies. Speaking to The Engineer as part of this month’s (November 2023) cover feature on green hydrogen, Ceres CTO Dr Caroline Hargrove explained how the technology could help drive green steel, green ammonia production and synthetic fuels.