A Reliable Partner for Green Hydrogen Technologies

Electrolyzer and fuel cell manufacturers rely on high quality materials, coatings, and equipment from Oerlikon to improve efficiency, durability and economic viability of their products.

Over the last 40 years, Oerlikon established competence in innovative material development, advanced manufacturing, and coating solutions. Materials, including alloys, oxides and other ceramics, can be developed using the RAD (rapid alloy development platform). Oerlikon can manufacture newly developed and conventional materials used in the variety of coating processes used in the hydrogen industry such as thermal spray, thin films, and screen printing. Oerlikon manufactures coating equipment and develops coating parameters for solid oxide (SO), alkaline (AFC/AWE), and proton exchange membrane (PEM) technologies. Oerlikon maintains a solid research and development portfolio to advance technologies and products for the hydrogen industry.

Electrolyzers and Fuel Cells

Electrolyzers (EC) are used to produce hydrogen, while fuel cells (FC) use fuels like hydrogen or other alternatives to produce electricity. Functional layers rely on high performance materials to drive efficiency while reducing the cost of operation.

Our know-how as leader in thin-film and thermal spray coating technologies, material design and manufacturing allow us to find solutions to:

Protect electrode from chromium poisoning while maintaining high electrical conductivity with SOC interconnect plates coatings;
Create thin, dense and stable SOC electrolyte layer with high ionic conductivity;
Hinder the critical electrolyte-cathode interface degradation of the SOC by depositing a strontium barrier layer;
Provide materials/integral layers for SOC fuel electrode;
Provide excellent corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity to the bipolar plates in PEM;
Mitigate the passivation of PEM porous transport layers (PTL) by applying a protective coatings;
Provide binder-free electrocatalysts for alkaline technology electrodes by APS;

We are poised and eager to perfect ourselves in delivering hydrogen technology solutions. We are open for collaborative partnerships tailored to deliver fit-for-purpose materials, coatings, architectures and specialized equipment for your applications. All new collaborations are subject to volume demands and alignment with our operational capacity.

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A Global Trend Reshaping the Energy Landscape

With the increasing number of companies and governments committing to “Net Zero” emissions, Green Hydrogen is becoming more and more important. It is a carbon-neutral hydrogen as it is produced through electrolysis powered by renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. With hydrogen as an energy carrier, it becomes possible to store or transport energy from regions with high energy occurrence to regions with high energy demand hundreds of kilometers away and be used for electricity generation, combustion or other chemical reactions. In addition, water is the only byproduct of hydrogen combustion, which makes this fuel a clean and environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline.