Rotterdam plans 1 GW fab to make battery-powered electrolyzers

Dutch company BLS has received €54.6 million ($57.3 million) from the European Commission’s Innovation Fund for the development of a “Battolyser” factory with an annual production capacity of 1 GW, in Rotterdam. Site construction will be supported by partners including the Port of Rotterdam and automation company VDL.

BLS patented Battolyser product enables flexible green hydrogen production by featuring battery capacity in an electrolyzer.

The manufacturer says the Battolyser reduces the cost of green hydrogen by 20%, “making more green hydrogen projects financially viable.” BLS said the product’s battery function can reduce grid congestion and allow for greater integration of renewables.

“The technology is based on nickel-iron electrodes,” said BLS. “They are combined with currently commercially available alkaline electrolysis technologies with a proven track record of 20 to 30 years of service life.”

The Battolyser’s electrodes are in a conductive electrolyte that circulates through the cells. In the first electrochemical reaction, electrodes are charged and store electrons, acting like a battery. When charging is continued, via “overcharging,” hydrogen and oxygen are formed in a subsequent reaction with hydrogen gas produced at the cathode, negative electrode, and oxygen at the anode, positive electrode.

The product uses low-quality iron and nickel, which can be sourced entirely in the European Union.

The Battolyser is offered as a 2.5 MW, “plug-and-play” product and in 5 MW and 25 MW versions. The 2.5 MW version will be available in Q1, 2025; the 5 MW module is planned for Q2, 2025; and the 25 MW iteration is planned for Q3, 2026.

In terms of the product’s green hydrogen production cost, BLS said, “In the most favorable geographies, the Battolyser can offer around €2/kg in 2025.”

The planned Battolyser factory, which will be jointly owned by the Port of Rotterdam Authority, is expected to be commissioned in 2026. BLS and EU lender the European Investment Bank signed a €40 million finance agreement in 2023 and the manufacturer raised €30 million in Series A funding in September 2024, from Dutch investors Global Cleantech Capital and Innovation Industries and Netherlands investment agency Invest-NL.

From pv magazine España