ABSTRACT
Electrochemical hydrogen transport through a membrane using an ionic transport mechanism was known since the first precursors of Nafion® films were developed for fuel cells back in the 1960s, according to insiders (McElroy 1980, Eisman 1990, Grot 2011). Fuel cells and electrolyzers do employ hydrogen reduction or hydrogen oxidation, respectively, but these processes are markedly different from the process of pumping hydrogen because except for a small overvoltage at each electrode, the net chemical reaction itself does not give, or take, energy, or generate new chemical products. Even so, electrochemical hydrogen transport does bring additional benefits such as purification, compression, with silent operation, and (remote) flow control as surplus value features.
