The Defender.
Our Defender is a catalyst coating applied to the Porous Transport Layer (PTL) that reduces electrical losses and defends against deteriorating catalyst coated membranes (CCMs). The Defender immediately decreases OpEx in PEM cells by increasing electrical conductivity and providing co-catalysis at high power input levels. When the membrane thins and gas crossover rises, Defender recombines the gases safely to extend operating life and reduce total cost of produced hydrogen.
Porous Transport Layer (PTL)
Calicat Defender
Catalyst Coated Membrane (CCM)
Calicat Amplifier
Extend the life of PEM stacks.
Increase durability under aggressive intermittent power.
Lower contact resistance and higher conductivity = lower energy consumption.
Recombine gasses to minimize crossover and enable more efficient thinner membranes.
Extend the life of PEM and AEM stacks.
Increased durability under aggressive, intermittent power.
Lower contact resistance, higher conductivity, lower energy consumption.
Recombination catalyst reduces the risk of gas crossover.
The Defender protects CapEx — and pays for itself in OpEx.
When applied to the PTL, Defender adds a strong layer of protection to extend the life of PEM cells, while paying for itself in 3 years* by lowering Opex immediately.
CapEx defense
- High Current Density operation, useful for amortizing CapEx, dissolves expensive iridium catalysts on PEM CCMs quickly.
- Dramatic power swings from renewable energy sources also degrade iridium rapidly.
- Defender is highly durable and inherently catalytic, enabling electrolyzers to continue functioning (at slightly reduced efficiency) even after a complete loss of the original iridium catalyst.
OpEx reduction
- Improved conductivity from Defender increases efficiency by 3% immediately.
- This decreases LCOH by 7%** on average.
- Thin membranes are great for increasing efficiency, but they are less effective at preventing gas mixing. Defender is a highly potent recombination catalyst, extending the safety margin and enabling next-generation membranes.
The Defender has proven itself in multiple third-party tests.
Reduced OpEx pays for Defender’s increased price within 2.5 yrs.
- 3% more efficient at at high current density compared to titanium baseline.
- Because power consumption is 3x at 3A vs 1A, an improvement of 50mV at 3A is equivalent to an improvement of 150mV at 1A.
Improved performance vs industry standards.
- Defender samples have proven superior electrical conductivity thereby reducing energy consumption and operating cost.
- Every electrolyser can benefit from the Defender.
Recombination of hydrogen and oxygen keeps cells safe to operate longer.
- Verified H2 crossover of 0.2% from independent trials with a top-10 global gas utility.
- Defender cells demonstrate H2 crossover at 25% of bare Ti baseline after 800 cycles of accelerated stress testing.
Unlike iridium, amplifier doesn’t dissolve at high CDs.
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