New and innovative Co-Electrolysis

Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. To limit global warming, emissions must be greatly reduced and fossil fuels replaced by sustainable alternatives. Co-electrolysis is seen as a key technology for energy storage and utilisation, as it can efficiently store excess renewable energy in hydrogen and produce syngas by converting carbon dioxide, which serves as an important intermediate in chemical synthesis, fuel production, power generation and environmental applications. However, there are currently major challenges to the integration of co-electrolysis into our energy system due to high costs and short lifetimes.

The COOL project aims to make this technology more efficient, cost-effective and durable through new electrode production. This promotes the use of co-electrolysis in conjunction with renewable energies and for the production of synthesis gas. In addition, the proportion of critical raw materials is reduced. This enables lower costs and increases sustainability. In addition, the setup of a virtual electrolysis system creates the opportunity to simulate different application scenarios and optimise operating strategies.

The project creates synergy effects between the scientific partners (AIT, IWT, ITnA, HyCentA) and enables the development and expansion of knowledge in the areas of material development, degradation mechanisms and countermeasures, system development and operational optimisation. For companies such as Treibacher Industrie AG and RHP-Technology, the project offers the opportunity to develop new materials and manufacturing processes with lower risk, which facilitates market entry. New jobs and academic degrees will also be created.

Funding

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI) and the Climate and Energy Fund through the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) as part of the FTI initiative Energy Research 2024 (EW 24/26).