HYDROGEN GENERATION BY ELECTROLYSIS

The electrolyzer is the core component of Hydrogenics’ proprietary hydrogen generation technology. This is the component that takes water as a feed stock and, using electricity under controlled conditions, splits the water (H2O) into its constituent parts….hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). In most cases the hydrogen is the desired product that is captured and stored (or used directly) while the oxygen is vented to the atmosphere.
Hydrogenics is commercially developing and manufacturing two different types of electrolysis technologies and products – alkaline electrolysis and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. What differentiates these two technologies is the electrolyte that enables the electrolytic reaction that splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. Whichever technology is used the basic electrolytic process remains the same:

While there are many cases where it does not make sense to use the available electricity to make hydrogen in order to make more electricity, there are many instances where it does make sense. It boils down to more of an economic argument than a scientific argument that requires some understanding of off-peak power availabilities as well as how to optimize renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. Today, wind and solar power are stationary intermittent energy sources, limited by the hours in which they can actually generate power that has to be used ‘there and then’, or be lost. Hydrogen by electrolysis becomes a ‘dispatchable’ energy option that allows later use of power that has been previously harnessed by the wind or the sun.

Read here if you are interested in understanding hydrogen further.