3D printing technology has a tremendous potential to transform how electrochemical devices and products are manufactured. This opportunity is particularly rich for water electrolysis devices, or electrolyzers, which are used to produce hydrogen (H₂) fuel from water and electricity. In this work, we explore how 3D printing can simplify the fabrication of low-cost electrolysis devices by significantly reducing the number of parts and associated device assembly. These efforts are focused on membraneless electrolyzers based on angled mesh flow-through electrodes, which are a substantial departure from conventional membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) and alkaline electrolyzer architectures. Membranes and dividers can be costly, prone to fouling and mechanical failure, and constrain the pH range of operation. Recently, our group has demonstrated 3D printed membraneless electrolyzers that separate the O₂ and H₂ product species using flowing electrolyte and contain as few as three parts. [1] In this presentation, we present new 3D printed electrolyzer and photovoltaic (PV)-electrolyzer designs that achieve high product purity using buoyancy-induced product separation that obviates the need for actively pumped electrolyte. As a part of this talk, we highlight challenges and opportunities for commercially viable 3D printed membraneless electrolyzers.

[1] O’Neil G. D., Christian C. D., Brown D. E. and Esposito D. V. 2016 Hydrogen Production with a Simple and Scalable Membraneless Electrolyzer J. Electrochem. Soc. 163 3012–9