UK's ITM Power electrolyzer contract backlog up 61% in three months

ITM Power's electrolyzer contract backlog has risen 61% since September to 499 MW as demand grows for renewable hydrogen production equipment, the UK manufacturer said Dec. 16.

European electrolyzer manufacturers are benefiting from a slew of national and EU-level strategies to boost the production of hydrogen from electricity.

The EU aims to have 40 GW of electrolysis capacity installed by 2030, producing up to 10 million mt/year H2.

"Today's update provides a compelling endorsement of how fast our markets are growing and our decision to raise further funds to increase capacity domestically and internationally to take full advantage of this growth," ITM Power CEO Graham Cooley said.

The company, which recently opened a 1-GW/year manufacturing base in Sheffield and plans a second of 1.5-GW facility also in Sheffield, reported 62 MW of electrolyzer orders contracted as of Dec. 1 versus 43 MW in September, while 339 MW were in negotiation versus 169 MW in September.

Meanwhile, a tender pipeline of 909 MW compared to 1,011 MW in September, reflecting tenders moving to negotiation stage. The pipeline reflected the volume of global contracts ITM Power was actively bidding for.

ITM Power makes PEM electrolysis systems for grid balancing, energy storage and production of renewable hydrogen for transport, renewable heat and chemicals. Snam and Linde are major shareholders.

In October, ITM and Linde announced plans for a 100-MW electrolyzer at Shell's Rhineland refinery in Germany, with delivery scheduled for 2024. The project is benefiting from a Eur32.4 million ($37 million) grant from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.

In corporate news, the company raised GBP250 million ($335 million) of funding in November, secured a site for a second Sheffield factory and announced plans for a first overseas factory with capacity to produce 2.5 GW of electrolyzer capacity a year, with the aim of taking total manufacturing capacity to 5 GW by end-2024.

S&P Global Platts assessed the price of PEM electrolysis-derived hydrogen (Netherlands, including capex) at Eur20.69/kg Dec. 15, up 360% since the start of the year due to rocketing power feedstock costs.