Why not just buy cheaper SMR hydrogen?
It’s a fair and important question.
Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) produces hydrogen very cheaply inside large centralized plants. At that location, hydrogen may cost only a few dollars per kilogram.
But customers do not buy hydrogen at the SMR plant gate.
They buy hydrogen:
- At refueling stations
- At fleet depots
- Inside factories
- At the point of equipment use
Once hydrogen leaves the SMR plant, it must be compressed, transported, stored, and dispensed. Each of these steps adds cost, introduces energy losses, and increases operational risk.
What’s different about our system
Unlike most PEM systems, our patented architecture produces hydrogen at usable pressure directly, eliminating the need for external hydrogen compression.
Key points:
- No downstream hydrogen compressors
- No multi-stage mechanical compression
- No additional hydrogen energy losses
- Minimal energy required to pressurize feed water
- Ability to utilize compressed oxygen for auxiliary compression needs
As a result, compression energy and equipment costs are dramatically reduced.
