Electrochemists going with the flow: CFD-guided optimization of flow-engineered 3D electrodes and cells for alkaline water electrolysis

Van Droogenbroek, Kevin;Aissa Berraies, Ahmed;Proost, Joris
(2026) European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Piero Lunghi Conference (EFCH2 2026) — Location: Capri, Italy (15.September.2026)

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The role of green hydrogen in the energy transition has been widely recognized by the scientific community and the International Energy Agency (IEA), as it provides a pathway to store and deliver clean and usable energy. Currently, the two most mature technologies for green hydrogen production are alkaline and proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis. Recent experimental studies conducted in our group have demonstrated that the performance of alkaline water electrolysers (AWE) can be significantly enhanced by incorporating three-dimensional (3D) porous electrodes in a zero-gap cell configuration with forced electrolyte flow. Attempts were made to apply the same methodology (i.e. zero-gap cell with knitted mesh-type spacer and forced flow) to a 6 kW industrial-scale prototype electrolyser installed in our facilities. However, similar performance improvements to those observed at lab scale could not be achieved, mainly due to non-uniform electrolyte distribution in the anodic and cathodic half-cells. This work aims to demonstrate how Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, combined with experimental characterization, can be used to optimize both lab- and industrial-scale AWE cells. At lab scale, accurate 3D reconstructions of porous electrodes (i.e. foams or triply periodic minimal surfaces – TPMS – structures) enable the investigation of electrolyte transport from the catalytic layer, where gas is generated, to the porous transport layer (PTL), where gas bubbles are evacuated. Furthermore, numerical simulations provide insights into the performance limitations observed at industrial scale and support the design of improved cell configurations with enhanced flow distribution and electrochemical performance.
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Van Droogenbroek, K., Aissa Berraies, A., & Proost, J. (2026, September 17). Electrochemists going with the flow: CFD-guided optimization of flow-engineered 3D electrodes and cells for alkaline water electrolysis. European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Piero Lunghi Conference (EFCH2 2026), Capri, Italy. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/280495