Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition (Spatial ALD), an advanced technology for the precise deposition of thin films, plays a crucial role in the production of efficient electrolyzers for green hydrogen production. As the intermittent energy produced by renewable energy, is rapidly increasing the curtailment of electricity is increasingly needed. Unless the excess electricity can be directly converted to green hydrogen by electrolysis, where water is split into hydrogen and oxygen. Green hydrogen is then used as a feedstock in the chemical industry, in fuel cells for heavy transportation, and for energy storage in general. It is of paramount importance to reduce the amount of active but scarce interface materials (or catalysts) such as ruthenium, platinum, and iridium typically used in PEMWE (proton exchange membrane water electrolysis). (Plasma enhanced) Spatial ALD can provide the highest catalyst efficiency by accurately controlling the depth and uniformity of the active interface materials on structured and porous electrodes. Loading reduction of the catalyst of 15 – 20 times has been achieved. Another approach in AWE (alkaline water electrolysis) is to deposit ternary or quaternary compounds of specific transition metal oxides containing for example cobalt, nickel, iron to replace precious metal catalysts. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are very efficient devices to convert hydrogen into electricity. However, the current electrocatalysts used in PEMFC require high platinum loading. Atomic layer deposition can significantly reduce the loading of platinum, enabling more efficient use of the catalyst. The Spatial ALD process has superior form following performance on porous materials compared to other coating processes. Moreover, plasma enhanced spatial ALD allows for a very precise depth control of the catalyst coating on porous substrates. The benefit of porous material is the effective surface enhancement of the electrolyzer and fuel cell. With more m2 coated surface per m2 cell, the energy efficiency will be higher thus lowering cost of electrolyzer- and fuel cells, do more with less. Spatial ALD in Green Hydrogen
SALD Technology
Spatial ALD in Green Hydrogen
Reduction of precious metal catalysts
Surface optimization
The differences
Temporal ALD vs Spatial ALD
Temporal ALD
Spatial ALD
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