Enapter: anion exchange membrane electrolysis

Enapter is a European designer of anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzers. It is listed on the stock exchange and valued at 483 million euros (today).


History of enapter

Enapter was founded in 2017 by Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, a former director of a software company, after acquiring an Italian company: ACTA, specialized in the research and development of fuel cells and AEM electrolyzers. Its co-founders are his son Jan-Justus and Vaitea Cowan, a person who helped him design an energy-independent residence, notably using hydrogen (the “Phi Suea House”).

They have opened an office in Berlin in 2019, as well as a new production site in Italy. The company goes public in 2020. By 2021, it has 165 employees. It wins the Earthshot Prize Award in 2021.

Enapter electrolyzers

Enapter currently offers two products based on AEM technology:

  • AEM 4.0 electrolyzer
  • The multicore AEM.

AEM 4.0 electrolyzer

Their AEM electrolyzer is modular, taking the form of a 63.5cm-long parallelepiped weighing 38kg and capable of producing 0.5nm3 per hour (i.e. 1.0785kg/d) for 2.4kWh. The gas would have a purity of 99.9% (or 99.999% with an option) and would exit at 35 bars.

AEM multicore

The multicore AEM is an assembly in the form of a 12.2m-long container containing 420 AEM modules. It can (logically) produce 210 Nm3/h, or 450kg/day.

Energy management system

The electrolyzers would be remotely controlled and released with energy management software (EMS).

The system would be particularly suited to residential self-consumption and renewable energy microgrids. It combines IOT communication modules to produce the information, a telemetry platform to receive it, an “intelligent gateway” to connect the devices on a local network and send the data to Enapter’s cloud; then software to analyze and present the data.

To find out more:

  • https://www.rechargenews.com/energy-transition/exclusive-enapter-eyes-83-cost-reduction-for-its-unique-aem-hydrogen-electrolysers-by-2025/2-1-1256489