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Research Project “PEM Circle”: Digital Solutions for a Circular Economy of PEM Electrolyzer Stacks

The publicly funded research project “PEM Circle” is developing digital solutions to enable a circular economy for proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer stacks used in hydrogen production. The goal is to support data-driven decisions on R‑strategy measures, such as repair, remanufacturing, and recycling, across the entire life cycle, thereby strengthening the basis for resource-efficient use of key components in hydrogen technologies. 

PEM electrolyzer stacks contain valuable and also critical raw materials, including the precious-metal catalysts iridium and platinum. To keep these resources in the cycle for as long as possible, decisions on repair, remanufacturing, and recycling must be made in a transparent and traceable way throughout the life cycle. In practice, broad assumptions are often insufficient due to limited data: condition, ageing, and remaining useful life depend strongly on real-world operating conditions, which in turn determine which R‑strategy is most appropriate and should be selected. What is needed, therefore, is reliable condition data and clear decision criteria that link technical information with environmental and economic assessment to enable a robust, circularity-focused use and end-of-life management. 

To this end, PEM Circle combines ecological and economic assessment approaches with digital tools. A key foundation is component-level condition monitoring enabled by new sensor technology. Building on this, a prediction tool is used to assess current condition and remaining useful life. These assessments are supported by digital twins and complemented with sustainability information.

Another major focus is the development of intelligent software that connects the sensor technology and the prediction tool through consistent data handling. This will make life cycle information available in a structured way and provide a robust basis for decisions on repair, remanufacturing, and recycling measures.
To ensure broad applicability, the project will also harmonize interfaces and develop digitally guided recovery routes for R‑strategy measures. In this way, the approaches developed in the project are intended to be transferable to other systems and applications over the longer term.

The research project PEM Circle is publicly funded by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) under the “GreenTech innovation competition - Digital technologies as a lever for the circular economy” technology programme. PEM Circle is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA). Other project partners include DECHEMA e.V., department Resources, krumedia GmbH, Marquardt GmbH, Quest One GmbH, the Chair Manufacturing and Remanufacturing Technology of the University of Bayreuth and the Institute for Energy Efficiency in Production (EEP) of the University of Stuttgart, who jointly contribute their expertise in sensor technology, digitalization, hydrogen technologies, condition analysis and sustainability assessment to the research project

https://pem-circle.de/en

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Katja Wendler / Ramona Simon

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