DESIREE. DEvelopment of enhanced SOEC components for Improved REliability Enduranc

Europe must accelerate its transition to climate neutrality by scaling up renewable hydrogen production, especially for hard-to-abate sectors. Solid Oxide Electrolysers (SOEL) offer a high-efficiency solution but are constrained by challenges like material degradation and high costs.

The DESIREE project tackles these issues with a holistic, multi-level approach, advancing SOEL technologies at the cell, stack, and system levels. It aims to demonstrate a scalable, multi-stack 2×20 kW SOEL system, incorporating: i) nanoparticle-infiltrated cells, ii) enhanced stack architectures with durable TEC-gradient sealings, iii) a modular hot box seamlessly integrated with a metal hydride compressor and advanced heat exchangers, iv) advanced dynamic control strategies, and v) SST power electronics for optimized grid integration. These innovations target enhanced long-term durability and power density at cell/stack level, and reductions in Levelized Cost of Hydrogen, energy consumption, CAPEX and OPEX at system level.

Circularity will also be embedded from the start, exploring ways to recover valuable materials from cells and end-of-life stacks, laying the groundwork for industrial-scale material recovery. Additionally, accelerated-stress testing protocols, will be validated to ensure reliable system performance under real-world conditions. Finally, the participation of key industrial stakeholders will ensure the development of a detailed exploitation plan for potential SOEL market integration.

The project will validate the 40 kW SOEL system under relevant operating conditions, providing robust performance, durability, and techno-economic data. The consortium, comprising 10 partners (and two affiliated entities) from 6 countries, includes top research centers, SMEs, and industrial players, ensuring a clear path from TRL 3 to scalable TRL 5. Aligned with the Clean

Hydrogen JU, DESIREE will position EU as a leader in next-generation electrolysis, advancing performance, sustainability, and manufacturability.

CENER participates as the coordinator of the project and therefore leads WP9&10 on Project Management. CENER also leads WP3 on the “Innovation in Materials: Novel concepts for advanced SOEL stacks (Cell and Stack level)”. Apart from that, CENER participates as partner in the rest of work packages. The main contributions besides the general management are the fabrication of advanced SOEL cells through nanoparticle infiltration and integration of recycled materials, the modelling of system hot BoP and prototyping of hotbox, the design and modelling of new SST-based power electronics and the validation of accelerated stress testing of both SOEL cells and stacks.