IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i9p2217-d1643712.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Parametric Sensitivity of a PEM Electrolyzer Mathematical Model: Experimental Validation on a Single-Cell Test Bench

Author

Listed:
  • Pouya Beigzadeh Arough

    (Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa (UNIGE-DICCA), Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy)

  • Arianna Moranda

    (Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa (UNIGE-DICCA), Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy)

  • Ataollah Niyati

    (Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa (UNIGE-DICCA), Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy)

  • Ombretta Paladino

    (Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa (UNIGE-DICCA), Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy)

Abstract

Water electrolysis for hydrogen production is of great importance for the reliable use of renewable energy sources to have a clean environment. Electrolyzers play a key role in achieving the carbon-neutral target of 2050. Among the different types of water electrolyzers, proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) represent a well-developed technology that can be easily integrated into the smart grid for efficient energy management. In this study, a discrete dynamic mathematical model of a PEMWE was developed in MATLAB/Simulink to simulate cell performance under various operating conditions such as temperature, inlet flow rate, and current density loads. A lab-scale test bench was designed and set up, and a 5 cm 2 PEMWE was tested at different temperatures (40–80 °C) and flow rates (3–12 mL/min), obtaining Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV), Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Chrono-potentiometry (CP), and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) results for comparison and adjustment of the dynamic model. Sensitivity analysis of different operating variables confirmed that current density and temperature are the most influential factors affecting cell voltage. The parametric sensitivity of various chemical–physical and electrochemical parameters was also investigated. The most significant ones were estimated via non-linear least squares optimization to fine-tune the model. Additionally, strong correlations between these parameters and temperature were identified through regression analysis, enabling accurate performance prediction across the studied temperature range.

Suggested Citation

  • Pouya Beigzadeh Arough & Arianna Moranda & Ataollah Niyati & Ombretta Paladino, 2025. "Parametric Sensitivity of a PEM Electrolyzer Mathematical Model: Experimental Validation on a Single-Cell Test Bench," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:9:p:2217-:d:1643712
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2217/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2217/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vincent, Immanuel & Bessarabov, Dmitri, 2018. "Low cost hydrogen production by anion exchange membrane electrolysis: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 1690-1704.
    2. Haniyeh Marefatjouikilevaee & Francois Auger & Jean-Christophe Olivier, 2023. "Static and Dynamic Electrical Models of Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysers: A Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-36, September.
    3. Ataollah Niyati & Arianna Moranda & Pouya Beigzadeh Arough & Federico Maria Navarra & Ombretta Paladino, 2024. "Electrochemical Performance of a Hybrid NiCo 2 O 4 @NiFelt Electrode at Different Operating Temperatures and Electrolyte pH," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-15, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ana L. Santos & Maria-João Cebola & Diogo M. F. Santos, 2021. "Towards the Hydrogen Economy—A Review of the Parameters That Influence the Efficiency of Alkaline Water Electrolyzers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-35, May.
    2. Solanki, Bhanupratap Singh & Lim, Hoyoung & Yoon, Seok Jun & Ham, Hyung Chul & Park, Han Saem & Lee, Ha Eun & Lee, See Hoon, 2025. "Recent advancement of non-noble metal catalysts for hydrogen production by NH3 decomposition," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    3. Sumit Sood & Om Prakash & Mahdi Boukerdja & Jean-Yves Dieulot & Belkacem Ould-Bouamama & Mathieu Bressel & Anne-Lise Gehin, 2020. "Generic Dynamical Model of PEM Electrolyser under Intermittent Sources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-34, December.
    4. Negar Shaya & Simon Glöser-Chahoud, 2024. "A Review of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Studies for Hydrogen Production Technologies through Water Electrolysis: Recent Advances," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-21, August.
    5. Daniela S. Falcão, 2023. "Green Hydrogen Production by Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis: Status and Future Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-8, January.
    6. Yaowei Huang & Da Xu & Shuai Deng & Meng Lin, 2024. "A hybrid electro-thermochemical device for methane production from the air," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. Mustafa Ergin Şahin, 2024. "An Overview of Different Water Electrolyzer Types for Hydrogen Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-20, October.
    8. An, Qi & Jin, Zhijiang & Li, Nan & Wang, Hongchao & Schmierer, Joel & Wei, Cundi & Hu, Hongyu & Gao, Qian & Woodall, Jerry M., 2022. "Study on the liquid phase-derived activation mechanism in Al-rich alloy hydrolysis reaction for hydrogen production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    9. Ahmad Baroutaji & Arun Arjunan & John Robinson & Tabbi Wilberforce & Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem & Abdul Ghani Olabi, 2021. "PEMFC Poly-Generation Systems: Developments, Merits, and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-31, October.
    10. Dingenen, Fons & Verbruggen, Sammy W., 2021. "Tapping hydrogen fuel from the ocean: A review on photocatalytic, photoelectrochemical and electrolytic splitting of seawater," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    11. Alanne, Kari & Cao, Sunliang, 2019. "An overview of the concept and technology of ubiquitous energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 284-302.
    12. Jamey Davies & Stephanus P. Du Preez & Dmitri G. Bessarabov, 2022. "The Hydrolysis of Ball-Milled Aluminum–Bismuth–Nickel Composites for On-Demand Hydrogen Generation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-22, March.
    13. Ayiguzhali Tuluhong & Qingpu Chang & Lirong Xie & Zhisen Xu & Tengfei Song, 2024. "Current Status of Green Hydrogen Production Technology: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-47, October.
    14. Lu Wang & Zhijun Jin & Xiao Chen & Yutong Su & Xiaowei Huang, 2023. "The Origin and Occurrence of Natural Hydrogen," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-18, March.
    15. Tufa, Ramato Ashu & Chanda, Debabrata & Ma, Ming & Aili, David & Demissie, Taye Beyene & Vaes, Jan & Li, Qingfeng & Liu, Shanhu & Pant, Deepak, 2020. "Towards highly efficient electrochemical CO2 reduction: Cell designs, membranes and electrocatalysts," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    16. Genovese, Matteo & Fragiacomo, Petronilla, 2021. "Parametric technical-economic investigation of a pressurized hydrogen electrolyzer unit coupled with a storage compression system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 502-515.
    17. Hou, Xiaojiang & Wang, Yi & Yang, Yanling & Hu, Rui & Yang, Guang & Feng, Lei & Suo, Guoquan, 2019. "Microstructure evolution and controlled hydrolytic hydrogen generation strategy of Mg-rich Mg-Ni-La ternary alloys," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    18. Choe, Changgwon & Cheon, Seunghyun & Gu, Jiwon & Lim, Hankwon, 2022. "Critical aspect of renewable syngas production for power-to-fuel via solid oxide electrolysis: Integrative assessment for potential renewable energy source," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    19. Kourougianni, Fanourios & Arsalis, Alexandros & Olympios, Andreas V. & Yiasoumas, Georgios & Konstantinou, Charalampos & Papanastasiou, Panos & Georghiou, George E., 2024. "A comprehensive review of green hydrogen energy systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    20. Seunghyun Cheon & Manhee Byun & Dongjun Lim & Hyunjun Lee & Hankwon Lim, 2021. "Parametric Study for Thermal and Catalytic Methane Pyrolysis for Hydrogen Production: Techno-Economic and Scenario Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:9:p:2217-:d:1643712. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.