Modelling and Simulation Analysis of a PEM Water Electrolyser for Hydrogen Production
Keywords:
PEM Electrolyser, Fick’s Law, Overpotential, relative humidity, temperature, pressureAbstract
Hydrogen energy is a renewable energy that can substitute fossil fuels in a wide application range. One of the efforts is producing hydrogen gas using a system called a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Electrolyser. Several efforts have been made in designing and improving a PEM electrolyser system to achieve optimum efficiency. This paper aims to develop a computational model for analysing the performance of a PEM water electrolyser, focusing on voltage losses, hydrogen production efficiency, and system optimization. This performance can be improved by analysing the effect of electrode potential on polarisation based on electrochemical and thermodynamics concepts. A MATLAB coding simulation was used in this paper to analyse the performance using combinations of Fick's Law and Darcy's Law. The first model, Model A, specifies the number of voltage losses in a PEM electrolyser with an open-circuit voltage and the three overpotentials of activation, ohmic and diffusion. Meanwhile, the second model, Model B, is known as the number of voltage and hydrogen losses due to convection and diffusion. The performance of the PEM electrolyser can be influenced by a variety of factors. This performance assessment focuses on the following relative humidity on the anode side, pressure and temperature. The results showed that Model B has a lower operating voltage than Model A, which only considered reversible voltage and voltage losses. The findings highlight the crucial role of anode relative humidity, where higher humidity lowers the operating voltage. Meanwhile, higher cathode pressure increases hydrogen crossover, raising the operating voltage but improving voltage efficiency. Model B accurately predicted output across various current densities, proving its reliability. This study underscores the importance of modelling in PEM electrolyser performance analysis. Future work should explore mass transport effects on hydrogen production using these models.
Downloads
References
“Hydrogen storage and transport technologies,” Science and Engineering of Hydrogen-Based Energy Technologies: Hydrogen Production and Practical Applications in Energy Generation, pp. 221–228, Jan. 2018, doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-814251-6.00010-1.
M. Miri, I. Tolj, and F. Barbir, “Review of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell-Powered Systems for Stationary Applications Using Renewable Energy Sources,” Aug. 01, 2024, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI). doi: 10.3390/en17153814.
M. M. Hossain Bhuiyan and Z. Siddique, “Hydrogen as an alternative fuel: A comprehensive review of challenges and opportunities in production, storage, and transportation,” Int J Hydrogen Energy, vol. 102, pp. 1026–1044, Feb. 2025, doi: 10.1016/J.IJHYDENE.2025.01.033.
S. G. Nnabuife, A. K. Hamzat, J. Whidborne, B. Kuang, and K. W. Jenkins, “Integration of renewable energy sources in tandem with electrolysis: A technology review for green hydrogen production,” Int J Hydrogen Energy, vol. 107, pp. 218–240, Mar. 2025, doi: 10.1016/J.IJHYDENE.2024.06.342.
M. E. Şahin, “An Overview of Different Water Electrolyzer Types for Hydrogen Production,” Energies (Basel), vol. 17, no. 19, p. 4944, Oct. 2024, doi: 10.3390/en17194944.
N. S. Hassan et al., “Recent review and evaluation of green hydrogen production via water electrolysis for a sustainable and clean energy society,” Int J Hydrogen Energy, vol. 52, pp. 420–441, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.1016/J.IJHYDENE.2023.09.068.
S. R. Arsad et al., “Recent advancement in water electrolysis for hydrogen production: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis and technology updates,” Int J Hydrogen Energy, vol. 60, pp. 780–801, Mar. 2024, doi: 10.1016/J.IJHYDENE.2024.02.184.
D. L. Gosu, A. Durvasula, J. Annamalai, A. R. Chowdhary, and G. S. Freire, “Modelling of PEM Electrolyzer Dynamics for Green Hydrogen Production,” in Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, vol. 53, F. Manenti and G. V Reklaitis, Eds., Elsevier, 2024, pp. 505–510. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-28824-1.50085-5.
M. Tofighi-Milani, S. Fattaheian-Dehkordi, and M. Lehtonen, “Electrolysers: A Review on Trends, Electrical Modeling, and Their Dynamic Responses,” IEEE Access, vol. 13, pp. 39870–39885, 2025, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3546546.
“Ohmic Loss - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics.” Accessed: Mar. 09, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/ohmic-loss
“Ionic Conductivity - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics.” Accessed: Mar. 09, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/ionic-conductivity
A. Majumdar, M. Haas, I. Elliot, and S. Nazari, “Control and control-oriented modeling of PEM water electrolyzers: A review,” Int J Hydrogen Energy, vol. 48, no. 79, pp. 30621–30641, Sep. 2023, doi: 10.1016/J.IJHYDENE.2023.04.204.
M. Schalenbach, M. Carmo, D. L. Fritz, J. Mergel, and D. Stolten, “Pressurized PEM water electrolysis: Efficiency and gas crossover,” Int J Hydrogen Energy, vol. 38, no. 35, pp. 14921–14933, Nov. 2013, doi: 10.1016/J.IJHYDENE.2013.09.013.
F. Marangio, M. Santarelli, and M. Calì, “Theoretical model and experimental analysis of a high pressure PEM water electrolyser for hydrogen production,” Int J Hydrogen Energy, vol. 34, no. 3, 2009, doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.11.083.
P. Choi, D. G. Bessarabov, and R. Datta, “A simple model for solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) water electrolysis,” Solid State Ion, vol. 175, no. 1–4, pp. 535–539, Nov. 2004, doi: 10.1016/J.SSI.2004.01.076.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Suhadiyana Hanapi, Abdul Hadi Abdol Rahim @ Ibrahim, Fatin Athirah Mazlan, Raja Muhammad Aslam Raja Arif, Hazim Sharudin, Azizan As'arry

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.