Electrolysers in the Energy Transition: Key Insights from the CIRCO Chain-Track

Update

Hydrogen could play a crucial role in our future energy grid. Electrolysers are needed to convert electricity into hydrogen. The expectation is that this market will grow enormously. If companies in this sector start thinking about circularity now, they can gain a competitive advantage. In the CIRCO Chain-Track 'Electrolysers' various parties in the sector joined forces to find circular solutions. How they did that and what they learned? You can read it here.

Lena Arndt

Electrolysers

Circularity and electrolysers

Electrolysers are, for the most part, not yet designed with circularity in mind. This makes them difficult to maintain, reuse, or recycle efficiently. But this also means that there is enormous potential for companies that start thinking now about circular challenges and possible solutions.

Circular opportunities

During the Chain-Track, participants identified several important circular opportunities:

  • Electrolysers contain many specific, often scarce materials. These materials are difficult to reuse and pose supply chain risks such as price fluctuations and delivery issues.
  • There is a lack of standardisation, which makes reuse and repair more difficult. Due to a lack of knowledge, many systems are over-dimensioned, leading again to unnecessary material use.
  • Electrolysers wear out relatively quickly, especially under fluctuating loads. Rapid technological developments mean that installations become obsolete faster, making reuse and recycling even more challenging.

CIRCO Chain-Track: working together on circular solutions

Companies that take action on circularity now will be better prepared for the future. However, circular design is often complex and requires collaboration throughout the value chain. With CIRCO Chain-Tracks, we bring together different parties to exchange ideas and develop solutions together. We connect individual links in the chain, brainstorm opportunities, and work under the guidance of an experienced trainer on concrete improvements.

Approach and circular goals

An important tool during a Chain-Track is the Framework for Circular Design (FCD), a visual framework that helps participants organise their key insights and structure ideas and solutions. Using this approach, they identified several circular goals for the electrolyser sector, including reducing dependence on critical materials, lowering investment and operational costs, mitigating risks, and increasing efficiency while reducing wear and obsolescence.

Circular solution pathways for electrolysers

To achieve the circular goals, the following five solution directions emerged:

  1. Design interventions for high-quality recycling. By designing smartly, material use – and therefore costs – can be reduced. This includes avoiding or minimising the use of scarce or harmful substances such as PFAS and iridium. By factoring recycling into the design phase, valuable materials such as nickel, iridium, stainless steel (SS), and PSU can be recovered at high quality.
  2. Reuse and new business models. A large share of value is currently lost because the economic lifespan is often shorter than the technical lifespan. This creates opportunities for reusing components such as frames, end plates, tie rods, and bipolar plates. This requires new business models – for example, product-as-a-service or even material-as-a-service, as well as take-back schemes aimed at extending the use of components and products.
  3. Collaboration within the value chain. Closer cooperation between end-users, suppliers, and EPCs (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) is crucial. This can lead to lower costs, more efficient development, and better alignment in the design and production process.
  4. Standardisation and shared data. To scale up reuse and recycling, clear standards are needed. More collaboration at industry level and data sharing are essential – for example, through performance monitoring or a product passport. This enables predictive maintenance and better performance.
  5. Focus on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Finally, participants called for a broader perspective: moving from risk management per component to optimising total ownership costs across the entire chain. This requires systems thinking and a long-term vision for value creation.

With these directions in hand, the chain partners will now continue their work independently.

Want to learn more about CIRCO Chain-Tracks?

Wondering if your Hub could also organise one? Check out this article to discover what Chain-Tracks are, how they work, and the impact they can make. Got specific questions? Send us an e-mail.

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Lena Arndt
Als communicatiemedewerker coördineert Lena de nieuwsbrieven, socia lmedia- en websitecontent voor CIRCO en Circonnect met als doel de achterban betrokken houden én nieuwe bedrijven aantrekken die de stap willen zetten van een lineair naar een circulair businessmodel.
Met een achtergrond in communicatiewetenschappen heeft Lena zich gespecialiseerd in marketing- en communicatiewerk rondom groene thema’s. Als zelfstandig ondernemer heeft ze ervaring opgedaan bij diverse bedrijven in de duurzame sector – van zonnepanelen en opslagoplossingen voor schone energie tot de circulaire economie.
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