TY - CONF
T1 - Sustainable Recycling Approaches to PEM Electrolyser Stacks: Focus on Bipolar Plates and Porous Transport Layers
AU - Nti, Richard
AU - Nigl, Thomas
PY - 2025/3/13
Y1 - 2025/3/13
N2 - Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysers play a progressively essential role in the global hydrogen economy. However, the need to sustainably recycle their key components such as the bipolar plates (BPPs) and porous transport layers (PTLs) which mostly contain strategically critical raw materials like titanium and platinum group metals (PGMs) has turned out to be critical. These materials are valuable yet pose challenges regarding their end-of-life management because of their high cost and environmental impact. This ReCycle project keenly wants to address the sustainability of PEM stacks and develop efficient recycling processes that recover materials of interest while reducing environmental impact. The principal aim of this research work is to establish a sustainable recycling strategy which enables the recovery of titanium and PGMs from PEM electrolysers. Stack disassembly has been manually completed, a crucial step ensuring clean recovery of materials laying the groundwork for subsequent recycling techniques like hydrometallurgy. The project seeks to answer key question including how titanium and PGMs can be effectively recovered and which methods offer the most environmental and economic benefits. The methodology involves a stepwise process: first, manual disassembly to preserve component integrity and reduce contamination, followed by the application of hydrometallurgical leaching techniques to selectively extract titanium and PGMs. This approach is currently in its early stages, with the disassembly process successfully completed, and leaching experiments set to follow. Initial analysis will focus on recovery rates, purity, and the overall feasibility of the recycling approach. While this research work shows potential for the sustainable management of PEM electrolyser components, it also faces limitations. Manual disassembly is labor-intensive, which limits scalability, and the chemical leaching process has not yet been optimized. Future research efforts will be directed towards the exploration of automated disassembly solutions especially when production volumes of electrolyser exponentially increase and a more efficient leaching techniques to improve recovery yields and reduce environmental impact. This research project contributes to the development of circular economies within the hydrogen sector by addressing the pressing challenge of sustainably managing PEM electrolyser end-of-life materials.
AB - Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysers play a progressively essential role in the global hydrogen economy. However, the need to sustainably recycle their key components such as the bipolar plates (BPPs) and porous transport layers (PTLs) which mostly contain strategically critical raw materials like titanium and platinum group metals (PGMs) has turned out to be critical. These materials are valuable yet pose challenges regarding their end-of-life management because of their high cost and environmental impact. This ReCycle project keenly wants to address the sustainability of PEM stacks and develop efficient recycling processes that recover materials of interest while reducing environmental impact. The principal aim of this research work is to establish a sustainable recycling strategy which enables the recovery of titanium and PGMs from PEM electrolysers. Stack disassembly has been manually completed, a crucial step ensuring clean recovery of materials laying the groundwork for subsequent recycling techniques like hydrometallurgy. The project seeks to answer key question including how titanium and PGMs can be effectively recovered and which methods offer the most environmental and economic benefits. The methodology involves a stepwise process: first, manual disassembly to preserve component integrity and reduce contamination, followed by the application of hydrometallurgical leaching techniques to selectively extract titanium and PGMs. This approach is currently in its early stages, with the disassembly process successfully completed, and leaching experiments set to follow. Initial analysis will focus on recovery rates, purity, and the overall feasibility of the recycling approach. While this research work shows potential for the sustainable management of PEM electrolyser components, it also faces limitations. Manual disassembly is labor-intensive, which limits scalability, and the chemical leaching process has not yet been optimized. Future research efforts will be directed towards the exploration of automated disassembly solutions especially when production volumes of electrolyser exponentially increase and a more efficient leaching techniques to improve recovery yields and reduce environmental impact. This research project contributes to the development of circular economies within the hydrogen sector by addressing the pressing challenge of sustainably managing PEM electrolyser end-of-life materials.
M3 - Paper
ER -