ITM Power UK Ltd

ITM Power designs and manufactures industrial-scale electrolysers for green hydrogen production. Its proprietary PEM technology, vertically integrated manufacturing, and in-house engineering capabilities enable it to supply standardised, high-performance hydrogen plants.

With a proven track record in large-scale projects, ITM Power helps leading industrial and energy companies achieve their decarbonisation goals. In addition to its equipment offering, the company provides reliable and cost-competitive hydrogen supply through its build, own and operate (BOO) model, Hydropulse.

Headquartered in the UK, ITM Power is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM (LSE: ITM) and holds the Green Economy Mark, which recognises companies that generate over 50% of their revenues from green products and services.

At present there are no alternative chemistries available which have sufficient durability to replace the fluoropolymer membranes used in PEM electrolysers. The required target lifetime is in excess of 80 000 h. Hydrogen production via PEM electrolysis is an important process to decarbonise industrial processes and store clean energy.

As a business with an emphasis on sustainability and environmental responsibility, we want to ensure that our operations are not damaging to health or the environment. Initial testing with current best practice techniques at independent labs revealed no PFAS emissions from the electrolyser during operation. ITM will participate in this project to support development of advanced standardized PFAS analysis techniques to ensure industry-wide detection of emissions under any circumstances and to develop methods of avoiding / containing any emissions thus enabling the continued safe use of the fluoropolymer membranes needed for PEMWE technology.

Outcomes of the project will lead to more informed communication of any potential risks relating to PFAS release vs the benefits for mitigating climate change etc. This is important in giving potential customers and other stakeholders confidence that the technology is sustainable.

ITM contributes to the UPEM project as an industry leader in the field of PEM water electrolysis. ITM provides the infrastructure and expertise to validate the protocols developed in the project for industrial use on PEMWE. We have extensive test facilities for PEM electrolysers from lab scale up to full-size short stacks. We will collect samples from relevant locations within the electrolyser balance of plant to enable the consortium to analyse samples from industrially relevant systems. ITM will support knowledge exchange and explore real-world application potential for the proposed innovative solutions to capture PFAS in WE and FCs.