Ceres Power, a developer of solid oxide fuel cell and electrolyser technologies, has announced the first hydrogen production at its first megawatt-scale solid oxide electrolyser cell (SOEC) demonstrator system located at Shell’s Technology Centre in Bengaluru. The system, developed in partnership with Shell, is designed to produce up to 600 kilograms of hydrogen per day at full capacity with an electrolyser efficiency of 37 kWh per kilogram of hydrogen.
The demonstrator marks the beginning of the project’s operational phase. It is expected to provide data to inform the development of commercially scalable hydrogen production systems for industrial applications. The system uses a metal-supported design that allows it to operate at lower temperatures compared to existing SOEC technologies, which may result in reduced operational costs.
Shell and Ceres began their collaboration in 2022. According to Ceres, the demonstrator aims to validate the potential of its SOEC technology to support industrial decarbonisation efforts, including applications in sectors such as green steel, ammonia, and synthetic fuels.
“This achievement illustrates how Ceres’ high efficiency technology can scale to meet the needs of industry and deliver a route to economically viable hydrogen for green steel, ammonia and synthetic fuels. India has ambitious plans, targeting development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least five million metric tons per year by 2030 and technological advancements, just like the one we have announced today, are aiming to contribute to this goal by helping to build and galvanise India’s clean energy ecosystem,” said Phil Caldwell, Chief Executive of Ceres.
“Hydrogen has a huge role to play in a low-carbon energy system as a feedstock for low carbon gases and low carbon fuels. We are working with Ceres to help advance technologies that can deliver hydrogen efficiently and reliably. This latest milestone is the next stage in helping us to learn and evaluate the best approach to producing lower-cost electrolysed hydrogen,” said Theo Bodewes, General Manager of Hydrogen at Shell Projects & Technology.
Ceres Power is a developer of solid oxide fuel cell and electrolyser technologies. Its focus includes delivering high-efficiency solutions for power generation and hydrogen production in partnership with energy and industrial companies.