PEM power banks for remote applications

Endua research case study

Clean energy storage startup Endua was launched in 2021 to build hydrogen-powered energy storage, aimed at delivering sustainable, reliable and affordable power at a moment’s notice. Endua is backed by more than $10 million in funding, including technology development and industry expertise from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency; Main Sequence Ventures, a deep tech investment fund founded by CSIRO; and Ampol, a leading fuel retailer.

Endua unveiled its first product in June 2023 – the power bank. The power bank is a standalone long duration energy storage product, that meets the demand for more than ten hours of stored renewable energy, delivering electricity on-demand. It uses PEM electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen gas can be stored almost indefinitely, in large quantities, as a ready source of energy that is converted back into electricity when required. The electrolyser, fuel cell and control electronics are all contained within a 20 foot shipping container. Further hydrogen storage modules can be added depending on the energy needs of the application.

Medium-sized power requirements, such as mine sites, telecommunication stations or community facilities, would have their own renewable energy supply such as a solar array. Excess energy generated on sunny days, combined with water, can be converted to hydrogen inside the power bank. Then during the night or sometime later when solar power is not available, the hydrogen is used in the fuel cell to generate electricity.

The development of PEM electrolyser technology using unique materials and fabrication processes has helped Endua to achieve the required electrolyser stack performance and cost reduction. The catalyst has been reformulated for higher performance and longer life. The electrolysis cell components are fabricated employing mass scale manufacturing techniques using low-cost materials that are easily recyclable. This allows the electrolysis stack to be replaced at end of life much more cost-effectively, thus potentially reducing electrolyser costs and thus hydrogen production costs.

According to Endua, the technology makes its power bank a low emission alternative to a diesel generator, and the modularity concept of the design allows for scaling depending on on-site requitements.