Prognostics and health management (PHM) of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers: A review-based guideline

To meet greenhouse gas neutrality goals by 2050, the demand for green hydrogen from water electrolysis is rising. Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) offers high efficiency and operational flexibility for producing green hydrogen. However, the increasing number of PEMWE plants highlights the need for effective prognostic and health management (PHM) to ensure safety, extended lifetimes and reduction of operational costs. This publication addresses this need by first conducting a systematic review of existing degradation models for PEMWE components, cells, and stacks. The used methods, assumptions made, experimental validation, as well as the generalizability of the degradation models are evaluated. Based on these results we present a guideline for the development of robust PHM strategies for PEMWE stacks, considering factors such as data availability, health indicator setting, prognostic methods, and evaluation metrics. The guideline serves as a foundation for developing PHM approaches to reduce plant downtime, maintenance cost and enhance the longevity of PEMWE plants.