Solar power is clean, but it is never constant. For the equipment that turns electricity into green hydrogen, every passing cloud and every sunset means a change in power, and over time, that takes its toll.
The Institute for Electric Power Systems at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) is using its expertise in energy and hydrogen technology to help solve one of green hydrogen’s biggest challenges: making sure the equipment that produces it can cope with the ups and downs of solar power.
Based in Hannover, Germany, the institute has years of experience researching energy systems, including how clean energy equipment performs over time. Within GH-SAFE, it will focus on how solar-powered electricity affects the performance and lifespan of the equipment used to produce green hydrogen, and on finding ways to keep it running safely for longer.
Two questions guide the work. The first is durability: how constant starting, stopping and changing power levels wear down proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers over time. The second is safety: how to start up, shut down and run PEM electrolyzers without risk.
To find answers, the team puts real equipment through demanding lab tests, some lasting several weeks, to see how it holds up under pressure. Alongside the experiments, they build computer simulations that predict how the equipment will behave under different solar conditions, helping to spot problems before they happen. The result will be practical guidance for running these systems safely and efficiently, as well as support for the demonstration project GH-SAFE plans to build.
The research is led by Dr Lena Bühre, who focuses on why hydrogen-producing equipment breaks down over time and how better design can help it last longer. Doctoral researcher Nicolas Stünkel studies how this equipment could one day connect safely to the wider electricity network, and how it copes with the constant starting and stopping that solar power demands.
As GH-SAFE progresses, LUH’s findings will help the wider consortium design green hydrogen systems that are safe, reliable and built for a smooth clean me energy transition in Africa.
