Gen-Hy, a French start-up offering innovative solutions for the production of green hydrogen, is launching an industrial test bench that provides a complete and accurate analysis of the lifespan of electrolysis stacks (hydrogen generators) and their components. It supports different electrolysis technologies (alkaline, anion exchange membrane and proton exchange membrane) that need to test and validate their processes and production.

The test bench is an essential prerequisite for validating a product before it goes into production. During the development phase, it is used to measure the system's performance and fine-tune it.

The lifetime test bench enables a stack with a maximum power of 3 kW to be automatically put intoSource: Gen-Hy production mode for several months while measuring all operational parameters, in particular the voltages at the terminals of each stack cell up to a maximum of 10 cells.

"Gen-Hy realized that there was no simple, effective way for testing the performance of its systems, so, a few years ago it set about developing a service life test bench, especially as there seemed to be strong demand in this expanding market," explained Sébastien Le Pollès, chairman of Gen-Hy.

This test bench can be used to carry out performance tests under various controlled and configurable conditions. It measures:

- Over time, the various parameters (voltage, current, temperature, power consumption, flow rates, production capacity, purity).

- The impact of the load profile on the stack’s degradation (petrol station, 24/24h, wind power, solar panel).

- Gas purity (oxygen) via a hydrogen sensor (Lower Explosive Limit —LEL), volume of gas produced (hydrogen flow rate).

- The stack’s efficiency.

- The stack’s performance and polarization curve.

The test bench features flexible control software, an easy-to-use interface and a PLC that controls and supervises the system during tests.