Energy storage: APAVE certifies AREVA’s electrolyzer

In July 2013, APAVE, the inspection body specializing in technical and environmental risk control, certified AREVA’s electrolysis stack, declaring it compliant with the European Pressure Equipment Directive (PED). This regulation outlines conditions for selling equipment with a maximum allowable pressure greater than 0.5 bar, in order to guarantee the protection of people using the equipment.

The electrolyzer stack, located at the electrolyzer core, produces hydrogen and oxygen from water, without emitting CO₂ or pollutants. These pressurized gases are stored and can be transformed into energy for smart grids if required. Earlier this summer 2013, the electrolyzer was integrated into AREVA’s GreEnergy Box^TM, a renewable energy storage and management module. It will soon be used in real operating conditions.

For Jérôme Gosset, Vice President of AREVA Energy Storage, “This certification affirms the design quality of this component, which is intended to operate at a pressure of 40 bar. It constitutes a vital step in bringing this type of equipment to the market and gives us a decisive edge over the competition.”

The stack components were validated following more than 2,500 hours of testing, and the endurance test phase is now underway. The stack reaches 80% efficiency at the normal operating point and will enable the design of electrolysis systems capable of producing 1MW of power.