Nel ASA and GM collaborate on renewable hydrogen production

Nel Hydrogen US, a subsidiary of Nel ASA, has entered into a joint development agreement with General Motors to help accelerate the industrialization of Nel’s proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer platform. By combining GM’s extensive fuel cell expertise and Nel’s deep knowledge of electrolyzers, the two companies are looking to enable more cost competitive sources of renewable hydrogen.

Nel was the first company in the world with a fully automated alkaline electrolyzer production line. The next step will be to industrialize the production of its PEM electrolyzer equipment in a similar way which will enable considerable technology advancement.

GM is developing and commercializing both HYDROTEC hydrogen fuel cell and Ultium battery technologies that deliver where it matters most: performance and cost. This is opening new revenue potential for GM as industries – including freight trucking, aerospace, power generation and locomotive – turn to GM to improve performance and reduce emissions.

A PEM electrolyzer and a fuel cell are largely based on the same principles. A PEM electrolyzer uses electricity and water to produce hydrogen and oxygen, while a fuel cell reverses the process, using hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water. As GM has made major steps and gained expertise with fuel cells, the two companies see substantial synergies by transferring this to Nel’s PEM platform.

Nel will be compensating GM for the development work and IP transfer on an ongoing basis and pay a license after successful commercialization dependent on how much of the end product is based on GM technology.