Adaptation and Application of a Polarisation Curve Test Protocol for a Commercial Pem Electrolyser on Cell and Stack Level

Abstract

The present study aims to develop a test protocol based on the literature for electrochemical characterisation of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis commercial stack using polarisation curves. For this, a 1-kW water electrolysis test stand with integrated temperature control and measurement systems was built around the stack. Afterwards, the stack performance was characterised under different operating pressure and temperature conditions by using polarisation curves. A measurement protocol was developed based on the literature. To ensure the reproducibility of the results, two rounds of experiments were performed. The experiments were carried out at temperatures between 20 and 60 °C and pressures up to 15 bar. The results show distinct regions in the polarisation curves related to the activation and ohmic overvoltage. The effect of temperature and pressure on the performance is shown and analysed. The performance of single cells in the stack is also measured. The stack polarisation curves are compared with those in the literature, which gives an understanding of the materials used in electrodes and types of membranes.