Open-Source High-Pressure Low-Temperature Electrolysis Cell Hardware

This resource provides open-source design files for a 25-cm² electrolysis cell hardware developed for research and development testing. It was created by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's H2NEW consortium to enable low-temperature electrolysis testing at elevated pressures. The package includes drawings, materials lists, and procedures for fabrication and assembly.

Use Cases

• Analyze the hardware design drawings to understand component integration for repeated reassembly in R&D settings.
• Study the assembly and operating procedures to adapt the hardware for testing different membrane active materials.
• Reference the auxiliary materials list for sourcing components like end plates, current collectors, and flow fields for fabrication.
• Apply the documented procedures to evaluate sealing capability factors such as machining quality and operating conditions.

Strengths

• Open-source design made available to the global low-temperature electrolysis community.
• Hardware is specifically designed for R&D testing, accommodating porous transport layers of different thicknesses.
• Design is intended to comply with ASME B31.1 leak testing standards for pressure applications.

Limitations

• The dataset consists of design documents and drawings, not quantitative tabular data for direct statistical analysis.
• Safe operation at pressure is the user's responsibility, dependent on case-by-case evaluation of factors like machining quality.
• Material-specific assembly and operating procedures are posted separately as they are developed, not all are included in the core package.

Provenance

Source

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's H2NEW consortium.

Collection Method

Planned and developed as an open-source hardware design package.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.