The global pursuit of green hydrogen has become a core driving force for energy transition, and the selection of raw water for hydrogen production is a key factor restricting the large-scale application of electrolysis technology. Traditional hydrogen production technologies such as PEM electrolysis have strict requirements for high-purity deionized water, which not only increases the cost of water pretreatment but also limits the deployment of hydrogen production projects in areas lacking high-purity water resources, such as remote off-grid regions and industrial parks with abundant wastewater resources. Alkaline electrolyzers, as the most mature and commercialized green hydrogen production technology, have unique adaptability to low-purity water, which is becoming a pivotal advantage in promoting the low-cost and large-scale development of the hydrogen energy industry. Hyto Energy Company Limited, a pioneer in the global hydrogen energy field, has been focusing on the integration of alkaline electrolysis technology and AEM hydrogen production technology, and its research and development practice has further verified the industrial value of alkaline electrolyzers in low-purity water application scenarios.

Alkaline electrolyzers have three irreplaceable technical advantages in the use of low-purity water, rooted in their unique reaction mechanism and material system. First, the strong impurity tolerance of the reaction system. Alkaline electrolyzers take alkaline aqueous solution such as KOH as the electrolyte, and the nickel-based catalyst used in the electrode has strong anti-pollution ability, which can resist the interference of common impurities such as Cl⁻ and SO₄²⁻ in low-purity water, and avoid the catalyst poisoning and membrane pollution that are easy to occur in PEM electrolyzers. Second, the simplified water pretreatment process. Unlike PEM electrolyzers that require multi-stage filtration and purification of raw water, alkaline electrolyzers only need simple pretreatment such as sedimentation and filtration for low-purity water such as industrial secondary water and photovoltaic wind power generated water, which reduces the initial investment of the project by 30%-50% and the daily operation and maintenance cost by more than 20%. Third, the compatibility of the structural design with low-purity water. The porous polymer diaphragm of alkaline electrolyzers has low requirements for water purity, and the gas separation effect is not affected by slight water quality fluctuations, ensuring the long-term stable operation of the equipment under low-purity water conditions.

As a company specializing in AEM hydrogen production technology and solid state hydrogen storage technology, Hyto Energy Company Limited has realized the organic synergy between alkaline electrolyzers and third-generation AEM hydrogen production technology in low-purity water application scenarios, and created a more efficient and flexible hydrogen production system. The company’s 2KW to 5MW class AEM hydrogen production units can be seamlessly combined with alkaline electrolyzers, making full use of the low-purity water adaptability of alkaline electrolyzers and the high efficiency of AEM technology in energy conversion, and realizing the efficient utilization of low-purity water resources in hydrogen production. At the same time, Hyto Energy’s solid state hydrogen storage devices (metal hydride) can match the hydrogen production capacity of alkaline electrolyzers, solving the problem of hydrogen storage and transportation after low-purity water hydrogen production, and forming a complete closed loop of "low-purity water hydrogen production - solid state storage - hydrogen utilization". The company’s R&D team, composed of 8 PhD engineers and 22 master’s degree engineers, has obtained 8 invention patents and 16 utility model patents in the field of hydrogen production with low-purity water, providing strong technical support for the industrial application of alkaline electrolyzers.

The adaptability of alkaline electrolyzers to low-purity water has broken the water resource limit of hydrogen production projects and opened up a variety of new industrial application scenarios. In distributed energy systems such as hydrogen microgrids, alkaline electrolyzers can use low-purity water generated by photovoltaic and wind power to produce hydrogen on site, realizing the local conversion and utilization of renewable energy; in industrial parks, they can use industrial wastewater to produce hydrogen, realizing the dual benefits of wastewater resource utilization and industrial decarbonization. Hyto Energy Company Limited has taken the lead in completing China’s first Green Power-Green Hydrogen-Hydrogen Storage demonstration project, in which alkaline electrolyzers are used to produce hydrogen with low-purity water from renewable energy power generation, verifying the feasibility of large-scale application of this technology. With the continuous innovation of hydrogen energy technology, alkaline electrolyzers will be more closely integrated with AEM hydrogen production, solid state hydrogen storage and other technologies under the drive of enterprises such as Hyto Energy. The low-purity water hydrogen production model will become an important path to promote the global energy transition and realize the zero-carbon goal, and inject more impetus into the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy industry.