Green hydrogen: Efficient electrolysis through comprehensive power conversion solutions by Infineon
The supply of hydrogen for industrial use is a major global business, with electrical power demand to produce green hydrogen expected to reach up to 4500 GW by 2050. Current hydrogen production, however, is supplied almost entirely by fossil fuels, consuming around 6% of global natural gas and 2% of global coal supplies. In contrast, water electrolysis can generate “green” hydrogen by harnessing renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power. Yet, this more sustainable process is currently only responsible for around 2% of worldwide hydrogen production.
Electrolysis produces hydrogen by using electricity to split water into its hydrogen and oxygen components. The process requires high levels of direct current (DC) supplied by power conversion systems. The design of this converter significantly affects the overall efficiency, reliability, and cost of the green hydrogen plant.
AC and DC-coupled power conversion topologies, using Infineon power semiconductors, are used in large hydrogen plants. AC inputs from the grid or wind-generated electricity sources must be converted to DC for the electrolyzer. DC inputs from photovoltaic or energy storage systems must also be converted to appropriate voltage levels. A variety of power conversion topologies can be found within an electrolysis plan, including:
AFE Rectifiers:
Active front-end rectifiers are IGBT-based converters and can be operated at unity power factors and have low levels of Total Harmonic Distortions (< 5%). For systems up to 250 kW, Easy and 62mm modules are economically suited for system outputs. For those above 250 kW, EconoDUAL™ 3, XHP™, PrimePACK™, and IHM modules are an optimal choice.
Thyristors and Diodes:
Multi-pulse thyristor-based converters, usually 12-pulse or 24-pulse topologies, are popular for AC to DC power conversion because of their robustness, high-efficiency levels, and high current density. Thyristor rectifiers are particularly useful in high-power applications (>1 MW). High system power (>50 MW) can be efficiently realized through the interaction of several high-power switches.
Buck Boost / DAB:
Buck-type choppers and Dual Active Bridge are often used as the rear stage of thyristor or diode rectifiers with higher power factors across a wide operational converter range.
Typical system diagram:
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Register to watch webinar: Infineon's solutions for hydrogen electrolysis
Watch our webinar to learn about the potential of hydrogen in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and its role in transitioning to a net-zero system. Discover the global demand and market drivers for hydrogen, as well as the technology and challenges of electrolysis in producing green hydrogen. Gain insights into the requirements of electrolysis plants and power delivery considerations and explore Infineon's power conversion solutions. Become knowledgeable about power conversion needs for hydrogen electrolysis and how Infineon can be your trusted partner.
Meet the speakers
Tobias Asshauer graduated from the University of Applied Sciences Soest in 2005 with a Dipl.Ing degree in electrical engineering, majoring in power engineering and distribution, renewable energies and high-voltage engineering.
After starting his career as an electrical designer at ABB, he worked in various management positions as engineering manager, business developer, operations manager for transformers and head of product marketing for dry-type transformers.In product marketing, Tobias Asshauer focused on the marine, industrial and power supply/renewable energy segments with a special focus on hydrogen and energy storage solutions. Today Tobias Asshauer is Global AMG/AMK for energy storage and hydrogen applications at Infineon Technologies.
Varun Raghunath, Product Application Engineer, Solar, Energy Storage, and Hydrogen
Varun Raghunath completed his Master in Electrical Power Engineering at RWTH Aachen, focusing on power electronics and applications. He joined Infineon Technologies in 2023 in the High Power Technical Marketing Team with a focus on enabling inverter designs for solar, energy storage, and hydrogen applications. Raghunath has experience designing, testing, and qualifying converters from sub-system to inverter level and has worked on various high-power and high-voltage inverters used in multiple applications.
The Infineon Podcast4Engineers
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From quick takes on trending applications to deep dives on product innovations, our experts give you their take on the tech behind the tech.
Grey, green, blue… Who knew hydrogen could be so colorful? In this episode, our technical experts Nils Przybilla and Varun Raghunath explain why hydrogen is everywhere right now and how green hydrogen could change the way we think about energy.
With hydrogen energy growing in importance, we look at how it’s produced – through electrolysis. In this episode, our experts Varun Raghunath and Nils Przybilla explain what hydrogen electrolysis is and how power electronics help make it possible.
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Power semiconductors for green hydrogen