Design and characterization of compact proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer for component evaluation test

In this study, we designed and developed a compact electrolyzer for the evaluation of components in proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis. First, this electrolyzer features a precise pressure-control system that controls the active electrode area and facilitates setting the desired clamping pressure. This mechanism makes it possible to optimize the electrolyzer performance. Second, it has two reference electrodes that are connected on the faces of the active electrode area of the anode and the cathode on the PEM. The polarizations at the anode and the cathode, the membrane resistivity, and the porous transport layer (PTL) overpotential were measured. The details of the design are described, and the electrochemical performance was measured. The optimized clamping pressure for this electrolyzer component was obtained as the specific value. A new measurement method was developed for estimating polarizations at the anode and the cathode, membrane resistance, and PTL overpotential using two reference electrodes.