Power-To-X and Hydrogen
The Delphi Data Labs management team has multiple years of experience in the energy and energy technology sectors. We combine dedicated energy expertise with our unique data handling, processing & analytics methodology to support customers from the public, financial, power, transport, industrial, agricultural and building sectors on their transformation journeys.
Power-to-X (P2X/PtX) describes the process of turning renewable electrical power into a different form of energy, such as heat energy (PtH) or chemical energy - for example green hydrogen. P2X enables the decoupling of energy generation from consumption, which is the most critical step in the transformation to a renewable energy system.
Hydrogen can replace fossil fuels and fossil energy sources in a wide range of applications, as it can be used in a variety of ways as a fuel, energy storage medium or a raw material. Therefore, we suppose that leveraging Power-to-X technology to produce green hydrogen and synthetic fuels from renewable energy will be essential in meeting climate targets and a way to decarbonising the industrial, transportation, heat, and power sectors.
It is a type of electrolyzer that is characterized by having two electrodes operating in a liquid alkaline electrolyte solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH).
These electrodes are separated by a diaphragm, separating the product gases and transporting the hydroxide ions (OH−) from one electrode to the other. Currently, AEL systems are available in atmospheric (legacy technology) or pressurized versions
PEM electrolysis is the electrolysis of water in a cell equipped with a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) that is responsible for the conduction of protons, separation of product gases, and electrical insulation of the electrodes.
The PEM electrolyzer, which involves a proton-exchange membrane, was introduced to overcome the disadvantages of the alkaline electrolyzer technologies. PEM aims to solve the issues of partial load, low current density, and low-pressure operation.
A PEM system relieson rare materials, such as Titanium, Platinum or Iridium.
SOECs use steam instead of water for hydrogen production, a key difference from alkaline and PEM electrolyzers. Additionally, SOECs use ceramics as the electrolyte, resulting in low material costs. While they operate at high temperatures and with high electrical efficiencies of 79-84% (LHV), they require a heat source to produce steam.
SOEC electrolyzers can also be operated in reverse mode as fuel cells to convert hydrogen back into electricity, another feature that is distinct from alkaline and PEM electrolyzers (IEA, 2021).
An AEM electrolysis solution combines the benefits of PEM and alkaline systems by allowing the use of non-noble catalysts while achieving energy densities and efficiencies comparable to PEM technology.
AEM electrolysis isstill a developing technology; therefore, with a view to using it to eventually achieve commercially viable hydrogen production, AEM electrolysis requires further investigation and improvements, specifically regarding its power efficiency, membrane stability, robustness, ease of handling, and costreduction (Vincent & Bessarobov, 2018).
A microbial electrolysis cell is a technology related to Microbial fuel cells (MFC). Whilst MFCs produce an electric current from the microbial decomposition of organic compounds, MECs partially reverse the process to generate hydrogen or methane from organic material by applying an electric current.
Membraneless electrolyzers are developed to eleiminate the disadvantages of membrane based electrolysis technologies. Eliminating the membrane creates the opportunity to decrease capital costs by reducing device complexity, materials costs, and assembly costs. Furthermore,the risk of membrane fouling or degradation is eliminated.
Membraneless electrolyzers generally rely onflow- or buoyancy-induced separation of products whereby forced fluid flow (advection) and/or buoyancy forces are used to separate the O2 and H2 products before they can cross over to the opposing electrode (Esposito, 2017).
Gasification is a process to convert organic materials without combustion at high temperatures (>700°C). The amount of oxygen and/or steam present in the reaction is controlled to convert the organic compound into gases such as Nitrogen (n2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (h2) or carbon dioxide (CO2).
Pyrolysis describes the gasification of an organic compound in the absence of oxygen. Pyrolysis of organic substances typically produces volatile products and a carbon-rich solid residue as a by-product.
Plasmalysis processes utilize plasma in either a gasification or pyrolysis process. Typically, a plasma torch powered by an electric arc is used to ionize gas and catalyze organic matter into syngas.
Methane reforming is a process in which methane is converted into a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen (syngas).
The most established reforming process is steam-methane reforming (SMR): In the presence of a catalyst methane reacts with steam under 3–25 bar pressure (1 bar = 14.5 psi) to produce syngas.
Partial Oxidation (POX: asub-stoichiometric fuel-air mixture is partially combusted in a reformer creating hydrogen-rich syngas) and Autothermal reforming (ATR: SMR utilizes esair for combustion as a heat source to create steam, while ATR utilizes purified oxygen) are alternative reforming processes.
A solar hydrogen panel is a device for artificial photosynthesis that produces photohydrogen directly from sunlight and water vapor, utilizing photocatalytic water splitting and thus bypasses the conversion losses of the classical solar–hydrogen energy cycle.
- Market Evaluations & Scenarios
- M&A Target Screening
- Value Chain Analysis
- Electrolyzers
- Fueling
- Fuel Cells
- Power2X
- Tanks & Storage
- Pumps & Compressors
- Pumps & Compressors
- Membranes & Electrodes
- Valves
- Bipolar Plates
- Engines & Turbines
- Heat Exchanger
- Water Treatment
- Pyrolysis & Gasification
- SMR & ATR
- Hydrogen Technology
- Mining & Metals
- Consulting
- Utilities & power
- Automotive
- Investment Banking
- Oil & Gas
- Aerospace
- Technology & Defense
- Chemicals
- Shipping
- Public Sector
Data & digitalization build the core of our consulting approach.
Unlike the industry standard, which relies mainly on interviews, our process is built on big data analytics. Our approach ensures highest academic research standards, and limits the negative impact of cognitive bias, which happens to occur in expert interviews. The human brain is simply not designed to correctly record and depict the nature of complex international multi-billion dollar markets.
That’s why statistical analysis of adequate data is the core of our research methodology. Nevertheless, we strongly rely on human expertise, which marks the starting & final process step in our work:
At first we map and understand the relationships in an industrial value chain to set the frame for our research. In the second step, we fill our value chain model with data from various sources to determine the market potential. In the next step of the process, our data is challenged by human expertise. We then integrate the feedback and adjust our data in a second human feedback & approval process.