In her speech, Elli­nor Ehrn­berg high­light­ed one of the most cru­cial chal­lenges for the hydro­gen indus­try today – the glob­al short­age of iridium.

“At the very heart of a PEM elec­trolyz­er lies irid­i­um – and there is cur­rent­ly no sub­sti­tute. Only 7–9 tons are mined glob­al­ly each year, and pro­duc­tion can­not be increased. Unless we dras­ti­cal­ly reduce the amount used in hydro­gen pro­duc­tion, the irid­i­um short­age will stop the scale-up of green hydro­gen before it even starts,”

said Elli­nor Ehrn­berg, Pres­i­dent of Smoltek Hydro­gen.

Elli­nor also pre­sent­ed Smoltek’s nan­otech­nol­o­gy-based solu­tion for large-scale and fos­sil-free hydro­gen pro­duc­tion that enables small­er and more cost-effec­tive electrolyzers.

Scal­ing green hydro­gen isn’t just about pro­duc­ing more—it’s about pro­duc­ing smarter.
We need to rethink the mate­ri­als, the man­u­fac­tur­ing, and even the mind­sets that built yesterday’s indus­try. Every atom count,”

Ellinor Ehrn­berg added.

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• Read the offi­cial press release: Smoltek high­lights glob­al irid­i­um short­age at hydro­gen event in Hamburg
• Read the sum­ma­ry from the event: Mak­ing every atom count in the race for scal­able green hydrogen