Life Cycle Assessment of a 5 MW Polymer Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis Plant

This study performs a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of a 5 MW protonexchange membrane water electrolysis plant. The analysis follows a thoroughengineering-based bottom-up design based on the electrochemical model of thesystem. Three scenarios are analyzed comprising a state-of-the-art (SoA) plantoperated with the German electricity grid-mix, a SoA plant operated with acompletely decarbonized energy system, and a future development plantelectrolyzer with reduced energy and material demand, operated in a completelydecarbonized energy system. The results display a global warming potential of34 kg CO2-eq. kg-H 21 and indicate a reduction potential of 89% when the plantis operated in a decarbonized energy system. A further reduction of 9% can beachieved by the technological development of the plant. Due to the reducedimpacts of operation in a completely decarbonized energy system, the operationat locations with large offshore wind electricity capacity is recommended. In theconstruction phase, the stacks, especially the anode catalyst iridium, bipolarplates, and porous transport layers, are identified as dominant sources of theenvironmental impact. A sensitivity analysis shows that the environmentalimpact of the construction phase increases with a decreasing amount ofoperational full load hours of the plant.RESEARCH ARTICLEwww.advenergysustres.comAdv. Energy Sustainability Res. 2024, 5, 2300135 2300135 (1 of 19) © 2023 The Authors. Advanced Energy and Sustainability Researchpublished by Wiley-VCH GmbH