Innovative Method for Reliable Measurement of PEM Water Electrolyzer Component Resistances (ICPSR doi:10.26165/JUELICH-DATA/YJNJFK)

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Document Description

Citation

Title:

Innovative Method for Reliable Measurement of PEM Water Electrolyzer Component Resistances

Identification Number:

doi:10.26165/JUELICH-DATA/YJNJFK

Distributor:

Jülich DATA

Date of Distribution:

2026-09-30

Version:

1

Bibliographic Citation:

Utsch, Nikolai; Berg, Florian; Scheepers, Fabian; Holtwerth, Sebastian; Shviro, Meital; Lehnert, Werner; Mechler, Anna, 2026, "Innovative Method for Reliable Measurement of PEM Water Electrolyzer Component Resistances", https://doi.org/10.26165/JUELICH-DATA/YJNJFK, Jülich DATA, V1

Study Description

Citation

Title:

Innovative Method for Reliable Measurement of PEM Water Electrolyzer Component Resistances

Identification Number:

doi:10.26165/JUELICH-DATA/YJNJFK

Authoring Entity:

Utsch, Nikolai (Institute of Energy Technologies – Electrochemical Process Engineering (IET-4))

Berg, Florian (Institute of Energy Technologies – Electrochemical Process Engineering (IET-4))

Scheepers, Fabian (Institute of Energy Technologies – Electrochemical Process Engineering (IET-4))

Holtwerth, Sebastian (Institute of Energy Technologies – Electrochemical Process Engineering (IET-4))

Shviro, Meital (Institute of Energy Technologies – Electrochemical Process Engineering (IET-4))

Lehnert, Werner (Institute of Energy Technologies – Electrochemical Process Engineering (IET-4))

Mechler, Anna (Institute of Energy Technologies – Electrochemical Process Engineering (IET-4))

Grant Number:

862253

Distributor:

Jülich DATA

Access Authority:

Utsch, Nikolai

Depositor:

Utsch, Nikolai

Date of Deposit:

2026-08-24

Study Scope

Keywords:

Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, catalyst layers, image processing, in-plane electrical resistivities, polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers, porous electrodes, printed circuit boards (PCBs), sheet resistances

Abstract:

Understanding the sheet resistance of porous electrodes is essential for improving the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers and related technologies. Despite its importance, existing methods often fail to provide reliable and comprehensive data, especially for porous materials with complex morphologies and non-uniform thicknesses. This study introduces a robust and straightforward method for determining the sheet resistance of porous electrodes using a novel probe concept based on industrial printed circuit board (PCB) technology. This probe measures resistance across ten distances, ranging from 250 µm to 2500 µm, enabling local mapping of resistance. The study focuses on the sheet resistance of key components in PEM water electrolyzers, including the gas diffusion layer (GDL), porous transport layer (PTL), and catalyst layers deposited on a membrane. Additionally, an image-processing-based method is presented to obtain the thickness distribution of the studied catalyst layers, facilitating a detailed analysis of the electrical in-plane resistivity with thickness variations. Overall, this methodology has the potential to expedite material integration and bridge the gap between electrode engineering and single-cell testing, thereby advancing the development of PEM water electrolyzers. This dataset provides the Gerber fabrication files for the custom PCB-based probe introduced in the associated publication. The files contain the PCB layer and geomertry data needed to reproduce the probe geometry with its ten measurement distances from 250 µm to 2500 µm; the measurement procedure and data evaluation are described in the related article.

Methodology and Processing

Sources Statement

Data Access

Notes:

CC0 Waiver

Other Study Description Materials

Related Publications

Citation

Identification Number:

10.1002/smtd.202401842

Bibliographic Citation:

N. Utsch, F. Berg, F. Scheepers, S. Holtwerth, M. Shviro, W. Lehnert, A. K. Mechler, Innovative Method for Reliable Measurement of PEM Water Electrolyzer Component Resistances. Small Methods 2025, 9, 2401842. https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202401842

Other Study-Related Materials

Label:

PEMWE_Resistance_Probe_BottomCopper.GBL

Notes:

application/octet-stream

Other Study-Related Materials

Label:

PEMWE_Resistance_Probe_BottomMask.GBS

Notes:

application/octet-stream

Other Study-Related Materials

Label:

PEMWE_Resistance_Probe_BottomPaste.GBP

Notes:

application/octet-stream

Other Study-Related Materials

Label:

PEMWE_Resistance_Probe_Drill.TXT

Notes:

text/plain

Other Study-Related Materials

Label:

PEMWE_Resistance_Probe_Milling.GML

Notes:

application/octet-stream

Other Study-Related Materials

Label:

PEMWE_Resistance_Probe_Outline.GM1

Notes:

application/octet-stream

Other Study-Related Materials

Label:

PEMWE_Resistance_Probe_Silkscreen.GTO

Notes:

application/octet-stream

Other Study-Related Materials

Label:

PEMWE_Resistance_Probe_TopCopper.GTL

Notes:

application/octet-stream

Other Study-Related Materials

Label:

PEMWE_Resistance_Probe_TopMask.GTS

Notes:

application/octet-stream