Approcci e metodi utilizzati per l’industrializzazione di un elettrolizzatore ad acqua alcalina = Processes and methods for the industrialization of an alkaline water electrolyzer

Within this paper, the methodologies and tools used, as well as their relationship, in the industrialization process of two different prototypes of alkaline water eletrolyzers will be analyzed. The goal of this thesis is to provide an analysis of the industrialization process as a whole. Through the application of different methodologies, many of the steps necessary to complete the industrialization process and begin production will be explored. Within the product development process of the two prototypes, new and innovative methodologies and components, which are the intellectual property of the company, were used. For this reason, no sensitive and undisclosed data will be discussed within the paper instead examples will be considered. The following paper is structured in four chapters: in the first chapter is given an overview of the company Industrie De Nora s.p.a. through its history, the main technologies developed and employed during the years as well as its core pillars. In the second chapter, an analysis of electrolysis, the chemical reaction that allow an alkaline water electrolyzer to operate, is made. Moreover, in the second chapter the different types of electrolysis as well as the general structure of an electrolyzer using this technology are discussed. Within the third chapter, many of the tools needed for industrialization will be explained and their theoretical application explained. The chapter is structured so as to temporally provide the evolution of each process into the next, emphasizing the cross-functional nature of the industrialization process. This chapter will be divided into two main sections, each devoted to a different prototype. Having the two prototypes different evolutionary stages, this division is necessary to provide a more complete picture of the whole process. The fourth and final chapter describes and analyzes the possible future applications of green hydrogen, its potential, and how it will impact our lives in the future. Thanks to the analysis of this technology and the tools required for the industrialization of such innovative prototypes, it was possible to structure a path necessary for the achievement of the desired company’s goals.