Toyota Industries : Develops Precious Metal Free, High Performance Electrode for Hydrogen Production Equipment

Toyota Industries Corporation Develops Precious Metal-Free, High-Performance Electrode for Hydrogen Production Equipment

Toyota Industries Corporation has developed an electrode for alkaline water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment using material and analysis technologies cultivated through the development of automotive batteries (bipolar nickel-metal hydride batteries). The electrode consists of originally designed material composed mainly of nickel and does not use precious metals such as platinum and ruthenium or cobalt, thereby contributing to the reduction of supply chain risks. It also confirmed through testing^*1 that achieves high water electrolysis efficiency equivalent to electrodes using precious metals and cobalt, and has high durability to maintain that efficiency without dropping.

Demand for hydrogen, which is attracting attention as a next-generation energy source to realize a decarbonized society, is increasing every year. The establishment of supply chains for producing, transporting, storing, and using hydrogen and the development of technologies for each process are accelerating.
The market for hydrogen production equipment that produces hydrogen from water and electricity is expected to rapidly expand to approximately 130 times^*2 the 2022 level by 2030. Thus, there is a need to develop hydrogen production technology that is both efficient and capable of providing a stable supply. The Company has focused on the alkaline water electrolysis method, which utilizes its knowledge of nickel-metal hydride batteries, out of the multiple hydrogen production methods available. It has been developing originally designed materials and manufacturing processes for electrodes, which are key devices for hydrogen production.

Going forward, the Company will carry out prototyping for implementation in hydrogen production equipment and further develop the electrode to meet the needs of equipment and system manufacturers, aiming to bring it to market around 2028.

The features of the electrode developed by Toyota Industries Corporation are as follows.

(1) Contribute to reduce supply chain risks This electrode does not use metals such as platinum, ruthenium, or cobalt, which are found only in certain regions and countries, as electrode materials, thereby contributing to reduce risks related to stable supply and price hikes. (2) High water electrolysis efficiency This electrode achieves water electrolysis efficiency of 84%*3, which is equivalent to electrodes using precious metals and cobalt. (3) High durability to maintain water electrolysis efficiency Chemical changes in electrode materials that occur when hydrogen production equipment is shut down due to a sluggish supply of renewable energy sources lead to electrode detachment, resulting in a decrease in water electrolysis efficiency. To address this durability issue, The Company designed an original electrode structure that maintains 84% water electrolysis efficiency with no electrode degradation even after 1,300 start-up and shutdown cycles*4 (equivalent to 14 years) and 1,000 hours*5 of continuous durability.

*1：	Endurance evaluation test according to In-House standards
*2：	Source: International Energy Agency (IEA), cumulative installed capacity to expand from around 1GW by 2022 to around 134GW by 2030
*3：	Water electrolysis efficiency at current density of 600mA/cm2
*4：	Calculated based on the number of shutdown cycles for wind power generation per year (approximately 90 times/year)
*5：	Target stack degradation rate of 0.12% per 1,000 hours in 2030 (From the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Strategy Roadmap )