Plug Power (Plug) is building an end-to-end green hydrogen ecosystem, from production, storage, and delivery to energy generation, to help its customers meet their business goals and decarbonize the economy. This hydrogen ecosystem is inclusive of production, storage, delivery, and energy generation. As the largest user of liquid hydrogen globally, Plug plans to build and operate green hydrogen production plants across North America and Europe. Plugs hydrogen production plants are based on internally developed proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis technology. This presentation will review the state of commercial PEM water electrolysis membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) and provide insights into what advances in MEA technology are required to produce hydrogen at a levelized cost of $1/kg.
Dr. Thomas I. Valdez reports to the Chief Technology Officer at Plug Power Incorporated, Latham, New York. His focus is on tracking hydrogen generation technology. Thomas has over 30 years of experience in advanced power systems for military, space, underwater, and commercial applications. His career began at NASA's famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) where he was a major contributor to the JPL Fuel Cell Group and Power Systems Section. After a 25- year career at JPL, he transitioned to Teledyne and continued to develop advanced fuel cell technologies such as what is featured in the Teledyne Subsea Supercharger®. His educational background starts with being a student of Mr. Jaime Escalante, whose teachings were the basis of the Hollywood movie Stand and Deliver. Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Materials Engineering from the University of California, Irvine. He completed his doctorate in Materials Science under Professor Florian Mansfeld, winner of the Electrochemical Society Vittorio de Nora Award, at the University of Southern California. Thomas also holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Loyola University Maryland