Swiss PX Group Launches Solar-Powered Hydrogen Production Demonstration Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 19, Swiss metallurgical company PX Group, together with hydrogen technology firm SoHHytec, advanced an on-site green hydrogen production demonstration project in the canton of Neuchâtel. The project was launched in August, with the demonstration unit installed at PX Group's production site in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

The project employs the Arb photoelectrochemical system developed by SoHHytec, which uses concentrated solar energy to split water and produce hydrogen and oxygen. When solar irradiance is insufficient, the unit can connect to renewable electricity to maintain operation, testing the feasibility of continuous operation of a direct solar-to-hydrogen system at an industrial site.

This demonstration phase will collect data on equipment reliability, operational efficiency, and integration with existing hydrogen infrastructure, providing an operational basis for the future deployment of distributed on-site hydrogen production facilities. The project has not yet disclosed the installed capacity, hydrogen production capability, or demonstration duration at this stage.

Arb is an integrated solar fuel and energy system that simultaneously produces hydrogen, oxygen, electricity, and thermal energy. SoHHytec previously conducted product-level demonstrations at EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne), where a single Arb system has operated continuously for over two years, with a recorded solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 24.4%.

Headquartered in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, PX Group primarily manufactures profiles, tubes, and rings in precious and non-precious metals, serving industries including industrial, medical, aviation, automotive, and watchmaking sectors. This pilot primarily aims to verify the operational suitability of solar hydrogen production technology at a metal manufacturing site.