Imperial College London
Portrait Picture

Professor Jenny Nelson

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Physics

Professor of Physics
 
 
 
//

Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 7581jenny.nelson

 
 
//

Location

 

1007Huxley BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

//

Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Schmidt:2017:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.10.045,
author = {Schmidt, O and Gambhir, A and Staffell, IL and Hawkes, A and Nelson, J and Few, S},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.10.045},
journal = {International Journal of Hydrogen Energy},
pages = {30470--30492},
title = {Future cost and performance of water electrolysis: An expert elicitation study},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.10.045},
volume = {42},
year = {2017}
}
Download

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - The need for energy storage to balance intermittent and inflexible electricity supply with demand is driving interest in conversion of renewable electricity via electrolysis into a storable gas. But, high capital cost and uncertainty regarding future cost and performance improvements are barriers to investment in water electrolysis. Expert elicitations can support decision-making when data are sparse and their future development uncertain. Therefore, this study presents expert views on future capital cost, lifetime and efficiency for three electrolysis technologies: alkaline (AEC), proton exchange membrane (PEMEC) and solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC). Experts estimate that increased R&D funding can reduce capital costs by 0–24%, while production scale-up alone has an impact of 17–30%. System lifetimes may converge at around 60,000–90,000 h and efficiency improvements will be negligible. In addition to innovations on the cell-level, experts highlight improved production methods to automate manufacturing and produce higher quality components. Research into SOECs with lower electrode polarisation resistance or zero-gap AECs could undermine the projected dominance of PEMEC systems. This study thereby reduces barriers to investment in water electrolysis and shows how expert elicitations can help guide near-term investment, policy and research efforts to support the development of electrolysis for low-carbon energy systems.
AU  - Schmidt,O
AU  - Gambhir,A
AU  - Staffell,IL
AU  - Hawkes,A
AU  - Nelson,J
AU  - Few,S
DO  - 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.10.045
EP  - 30492
PY  - 2017///
SN  - 0360-3199
SP  - 30470
TI  - Future cost and performance of water electrolysis: An expert elicitation study
T2  - International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.10.045
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/51653
VL  - 42
ER  -
Download