BioLogic Essential Booster Acquired By HYSA Infrastructure Centre Of Competence At North West University
HySA Infrastructure Centre of Competence (CoC) is one of the three centres launched by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). The overall goal of HySA is to develop and guide innovation along the value chain of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in South Africa.
HySA Infrastructure CoC is co-hosted by North-West University (NWU) and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and directed by Prof. Dmitri Bessarabov. HYSA’s Infrastructure aims to use South Africa’s abundant renewable and mineral resources to deliver technologies for hydrogen production, storage, and distribution. Energy carriers, system integration, and infrastructure are their primary technology deliverables (such as electrochemical hydrogen compression, water electrolysis, LOHC technology. refuelling stations, hydrogen safety, etc.).
Through technological development and demonstration, the research is driven by product needs. They can also develop and manufacture catalyst coated membranes, gas diffusion electrodes, LOHC catalysts, hydrogen and oxygen evolution electrocatalysts, recombination catalysts, etc.
Left Image – From Left to right: Dr Tumaini Mkwizu (Training Expert in BioLogic Instrumentation), Dr Irina Pushkareva, Dr Artem Pushkarev and Dr Boitumelo Mogwase from HYSA Infrastructure Centre of Competence.
This laboratory is used to fulfil the needs of the National Flagship HYSA program and benefits all SA PGM-related stakeholders, giving them an opportunity to commercialise the PGM-catalysts as well as their water electrolysis application to address escalating needs in the clean hydrogen technologies development and energy transition.
Recently they bought a new Essential SA booster in addition to the potentiostat SP-150e. This equipment will be used to study the oxygen/hydrogen evolution catalysts/catalytic layers in a high-current half-cell equipment. These studies allow one to perform a lab-scale optimisation of catalyst layers before their implementation in the full cell application, like water electrolysers. HYSA at NWU is collaborating with Japan under the SATREPS project on water electrolysis and green ammonia. This new equipment will contribute towards the goals of the SATREPS project.
