STREAM-Advanced Manufacturing of Flow Field Components for Cost-Effective Green Hydrogen Production

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STREAM-Advanced

Horizon Europe, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) – Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 (Grant Agreement No. 101277076, Acronym: STREAM)

Project Summary

Green hydrogen produced via proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is a critical pathway for decarbonising hard-to-electrify sectors. Despite its high efficiency, operational flexibility and compatibility with intermittent renewable energy sources, PEMWE capital costs (around €1,400–2,100/kW) remain three to five times higher than conventional steam methane reforming. About 48 % of stack costs are attributable to flow field components – porous transport layers (PTL) and bipolar plates – whose conventional production through sintering and stamping severely limits design freedom and keeps interfacial contact resistance (15–30 mΩ·cm²) above the level required for competitive deployment.

The project “Smart Transport layer Engineering through Additive Manufacturing” (STREAM) investigates how flow field components made of titanium and manufactured additively through laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) can match or exceed the performance of conventionally produced components, while reducing manufacturing costs and energy consumption and enabling far greater design freedom for complex three-dimensional geometries.

The project pursues three research objectives. First, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are used to optimise porous transport layers and bipolar plate channels as an integrated system, improving pressure drop and mass transport and raising overall system efficiency. Second, process parameters for the additive manufacturing of titanium components are established, enabling precise control of porosity and electrical conductivity while reducing manufacturing energy consumption by 40–60 % compared to sintering. Third, accelerated electrochemical testing methodologies (including impedance spectroscopy) are developed to validate component performance and predict operational lifetime, targeting around 40,000 operating hours based on 1,000-hour test campaigns.

The fellowship at FH Technikum Wien provides access to computational software, materials characterisation equipment and electrochemical testing systems, and offers structured training in advanced manufacturing, computational modelling and research project leadership. STREAM contributes to the implementation of the European Green Deal and the REPowerEU strategy by reducing electrolyser manufacturing costs and accelerating the market deployment of green hydrogen, supporting the EU’s target of producing 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030. In the longer term, STREAM strengthens FH Technikum Wien’s position as a centre of competence for sustainable energy technologies and fosters knowledge transfer between research and industry in the field of hydrogen technology.