General Motors has entered a joint development agreement with Nel Hydrogen US to help accelerate the industrialization of Nel’s proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer platform. The company says the two look to combine their data to develop more cost-competitive renewable hydrogen sources.
Nel says it was the first company in the world with a fully automated alkaline electrolyzer production line. The next step will be to industrialize the production of its PEM electrolyzer equipment in a similar fashion. A PEM electrolyzer and a fuel cell are largely based on the same principles. A PEM electrolyzer uses electricity and water to produce hydrogen and oxygen, while a fuel cell reverses the process, using hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water.
GM says it is developing and commercializing both Hydrotec hydrogen fuel cell and Ultium battery technologies. Nel says it will be compensating GM for the development work and IP transfer on an ongoing basis and pay a license after successful commercialization dependent on how much of the end product is based on GM technology.
