SOEC enters small scale commercialization in China

China’s first SOEC manufacturing line started commercial operation in Shanghai recently, signaling China’s SOEC/SOFC enters stage of small scale commercial application.

This SOEC manufacturing line has an annual capacity of 100MW and owned by an electrolysis technology innovator in Shanghai. The company has signed several small scale contract to install SOEC electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen in China’s western region where has plentiful solar and heat resources.

image: SOEC manufacturing line in Shanghai

According to our resources, leading SOEC producers in China can provide 2kw to 5kw products and is trying to upgrade to 20kw products. Some released figures showed that these SOEC electrolyzer can produce hydrogen at 3.16 kwh/Nm³.

Electrolysis uses electricity and an electrolyte or membrane to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Most electrolysis uses one of three technologies: alkaline, PEM, and solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOECs). The alkaline process is the most established, having been used for over a century. PEM electrolyzers can operate effectively at a range of loads with sub-second response times, which makes them particularly compatible with variable energy sources, such as sun and wind power. SOECs use a ceramic electrolyte at high temperatures and are the least commercialized of the three technologies. With higher electrical efficiency than PEM and alkaline systems, SOECs are likely to be more cost-effective in scenarios where high-temperature heat is available, such as from nuclear power plants and concentrated solar power.

Beside SOEC, China also made remarkable progresses for SOFC products recently. In Feb 2023, Weichai Power debut the world's first large capacity metal-supported commercial SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel cell) product. According to reports, the cogeneration efficiency of the product hit high a new world record of 92.55. Weichai Power, which is the largest share holder of Ballard Power, also strategically entered SOFC sector in 2018 and now is focusing on commercialization of SOFC products in China.

image: Weichai’s SOFC product