Matteco joins forces with Técnicas Reunidas Internacional S.A., the Instituto Tecnológico de Producto Infantil y Ocio-Aiju and the University of Valencia in the STELAH project: High Efficiency Alkaline Electrolysis Stack for Producing Renewable Hydrogen, to develop advanced stacks to produce renewable hydrogen with higher efficiency than current devices.

The STELAH collaborative industrial research project is funded by the IVACE+i program of the Valencia Innovation Agency, with a budget of €903,513.17, of which Matteco will receive €214,409.99.

The project aims to design, develop and evaluate more efficient and scalable catalysts and electrodes, both anode and cathode, for integration into new alkaline electrolysis stacks, resulting from validating different cell mechanical designs and operating parameters. The combination of catalysts/electrodes and advanced stack configurations will enable the production of green hydrogen more efficiently than what is currently available on the market.

Among its specific objectives, STELAH aims to identify optimal materials for catalysts and substrates that will improve both the efficiency and durability of electrodes, while seeking to optimize the electrolyte to increase its conductivity and electrochemical efficiency. It also aims to reduce the reliance on precious metals such as iridium and platinum with cheaper and more sustainable alternatives and to develop innovative methods for the deposition of catalytic materials.

The project also targets improving the price/performance ratio of alkaline electrolyzers by reducing their weight and volume and implementing modular cell designs that facilitate industrial scalability.

The work is in line with the challenges of the European Strategy for Alkaline Electrolysis 2030, which focuses on the development of compact but industrially relevant stacks and advances the objectives of the European Union’s Hydrogen Strategy.

RESULTS AND PROGRESS TO DATE
The project began in October 2024 with the start of industrial research consisting of the selection and design of catalysts and substrates, a task in which Matteco and UVEG are collaborating and which will result in the key elements to be incorporated in the subsequent design of modular cells for the new alkaline electrolysis stack.

The action is co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Programme for the Valencia Region 2021-2027.