Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTSAWE and AEMWE: from materials to process development
The Hydrogen Technologies Group at Fraunhofer IKTS focuses its research and development efforts on alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) and anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE). Both technologies are key components of a sustainable hydrogen economy.
Our range of services covers the entire value chain of water electrolysis—from scalable materials development and advanced electrochemical analysis to industry-relevant stack and process development. In this way, we bridge the gap between basic research and industrial application.
New areas of application
In addition to traditional hydrogen production, stack and process development is also gaining importance for other applications in low-temperature liquid electrochemistry. Examples include:
- Wastewater treatment using electrochemical processes
- CO₂ utilization for the sustainable production of methanol (CH4O)
- Compatible systems for Direct Air Capture (DAC)
- Production of platform chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)
Key areas of research and development
- Elucidation of the AWE and AEMWE mechanisms
- Dynamic operating strategies (in line with the renewable energy profile)
- Alternative operating points to increase energy efficiency (e.g., AWE above 90 °C)
- Stack designs suitable for automated manufacturing
- Material development (catalysts, coatings) to increase service life and performance
- Efficiency gains through state-of-the-art membranes, high-performance electrocatalysts and coatings (MEAs), and outstanding electrode architectures (CCM, CCS)
- HAZOP (hazard analysis) of AWE/AEMWE operating conditions
- Accelerated stress tests for accelerated analysis