Electrical and aging modeling of PEM water electrolyzers for sustainable hydrogen production: Insights into behavior, degradation, and reliability

Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers (PEMWE) are efficient and sustainable hydrogen production devices. This article analyzes their static and dynamic electrical models integrated with degradation mechanisms. Static models reveal steady-state behavior, while dynamic models capture transient responses to input variations. The developed modeling approach combines the activation and diffusion phenomena, resulting in a novel PEMWE model that closely reflects real-world conditions and enables fast simulations. The electrical model is integrated with the aging model through two key ratios, surface degradation ratio and membrane degradation ratio, which characterize degradation mechanisms affecting electrode and membrane performance. The linear model using second-order Taylor approximation enables the development of a diagnosis approach that can contribute to estimating the remaining useful life of PEMWEs. By associating aging models with electrical models through the proposed ratios, a deeper understanding is achieved regarding how degradation phenomena evolve and influence electrolyzer efficiency and durability. The integrated framework enables predictive maintenance strategies, making it valuable for industrial hydrogen production applications.