Dutch hydrogen battery goes commercial

Battolyser Systems is ready to bring its combined battery and electrolysis technology to the market. The spinoff from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) has appointed a CEO, lined up customers and raised enough capital. “After years of R&D, we’re ready to enter the green hydrogen market and enable scale-up,” says Mattijs Slee, who has taken the helm at Battolyser.

While conventional electrolyzers can’t easily be turned on and off, the battolyser can quickly switch between hydrogen production and discharging the battery. This enables the ability to quickly react to electricity price fluctuations, which are expected to become more pronounced as more renewable energy sources are installed.

So, when electricity prices are low, the battolyser is put to work for producing (green) hydrogen, a valuable compound used in a range of (cleantech) applications. When prices are becoming too high, the device can not only swiftly discontinue hydrogen production, it can actually start selling electricity by discharging the battery. The battolyser needs to be fully charged before it’s capable of producing hydrogen again.