Green hydrogen could soon become significantly cheaper to produce following a successful real-world trial of next-generation electrolyzer technology by US-based developer Power to Hydrogen (P2H2) and European energy giant Repsol.
The companies completed more than 1,250 hours of continuous testing on P2H2’s Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) electrolysis system at Repsol’s All4Zero innovation hub. The trial demonstrated that AEM technology—long viewed as a promising low-cost alternative to conventional proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers—can match top-tier performance while drastically cutting costs.
Initial projections indicate the system can achieve a levelized cost of hydrogen of approximately €3.86 per kilogram, marking a 16% cost reduction compared to incumbent market technologies. When paired with optimized renewable power purchase agreements, production costs could fall as low as €2.82/kg—a price point considered a major tipping point for widespread adoption across heavy industry.
Overcoming Industry Lifespan Limits
A key bottleneck for green hydrogen deployment has been hardware degradation under fluctuating renewable energy loads. Standard AEM systems traditionally suffer from short operating lifespans compared to established alternatives.
However, the P2H2 pilot demonstrated negligible degradation over 1,250 hours of simulated load cycling, projecting an overall system lifespan beyond 50,000 hours—roughly five to ten times higher than current AEM industry benchmarks.
The hybrid system also solves key supply chain and regulatory hurdles by completely eliminating the need for iridium (a rare, costly critical mineral) and PFAS chemicals.
“This pilot proves what we’ve long believed: that AEM electrolysis can deliver PEM-like performance at a fundamentally lower cost structure,” said Dr. Paul Matter, Founder and CEO of Power to Hydrogen. “This is commercial-scale hardware, stress-tested under the conditions that matter to industrial buyers.”
Scaling Up to Megawatt Capacity
During testing, the electrolyzer successfully handled rapid power fluctuations, ramping between 40% and 100% load, operating at up to 30 bar pressure, and recovering seamlessly from unexpected power outages without loss of performance or gas purity.
“Through our All4Zero accelerator, Repsol is committed to identifying and validating the technologies that will be essential to decarbonizing industrial operations at scale,” noted Berta Moreno, Senior Scientist at Repsol.
Following the success of the pilot, P2H2 and Repsol are planning a larger 500 kW to megawatt-scale demonstration. The initiative directly supports Repsol’s target of building between 600 MW and 800 MW of renewable hydrogen capacity by 2030, alongside P2H2’s ongoing commercial projects at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and in Norway.