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Nel Hydrogen announced on May 10, 2023, that they will construct a massive new plant in Michigan to build electrolyzers which split water into hydrogen and oxygen, with the goal of supplying up to four gigawatts’ worth of hydrogen each year. This follows the announcement in November that Nel would work together with GM to make electrolyzers more efficient and less expensive. The new plant would be one of the largest such facilities in the world. Nel became an ECS Institutional Member this year; GM has been an ECS Institutional Member for 71 years.
The promise of hydrogen
Hydrogen is a clean fuel that produces only water when consumed in a fuel cell. It can be made from domestic resources such as natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind—reducing dependence on foreign sources for metals necessary for lithium batteries. Electrolyzers are used to separate water and hydrogen through the process of electrolysis.
Lowering the cost of hydrogen production
Nel’s goal to bring down the cost of creating hydrogen syncs perfectly with GM’s efforts to develop and commercialize hydrogen fuel cells for large vehicles (instead of using lithium batteries) and for power generation. The proximity of the new plant to GM allows for sharing technology, people, and resources, which should translate into fewer challenges and faster progress.
The new facility and cooperation between Nel and GM support the U.S. Department of Energy’s goal to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen to $1 per kilogram in a decade—from its current cost of about $5 per kilogram.
About Nel Hydrogen
Nel is a global, dedicated hydrogen company, delivering optimal solutions to produce, store, and distribute hydrogen from renewable energy. The Norwegian company was founded in 1927. Nel’s vision is about “Empowering generations with clean energy forever.” The company’s technology allows people and businesses to make everyday use of hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe.
About GM
GM, the General Motors Company, is a U.S. multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, MI. Founded in 1908, the company was the largest automaker in the U.S. in 2022. The company’s vision is a world with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion.
About ECS Institutional Membership
ECS Institutional Membership opens the door to a network of elite corporate, academic, government, and national laboratory leaders that help organizations meet business goals and objectives. Strategic partnership with ECS is a win-win relationship, enabling the Society to support scientific education, sustainability, and innovation in members’ fields–electrochemistry and solid state science and related technologies–while members access information, people, and breaking research that ECS-member colleagues and competitors rely on every day.
For more information about ECS Institutional Membership, please contact Anna Olsen.
