ANEMEL - From waste water to sustainable power

From wastewater to clean fuel

How ANEMEL Is Redefining Green Hydrogen

What if seawater, wastewater, or even low-quality water could fuel the green energy transition? That’s the question ANEMEL set out to answer. Backed by the European Innovation Council (EIC) through a Pathfinder grant, this pioneering project is transforming how we think about hydrogen production—by making it more accessible, sustainable, and scalable.

The challenge

Clean energy needs clean water and rare metals

Green hydrogen is widely seen as a key solution to decarbonising heavy industries and energy systems. However, producing it through electrolysis usually requires ultra-pure water and rare metals like platinum and iridium. These materials are expensive, limited in supply, and environmentally damaging to extract.

ANEMEL took a different approach. The team developed a method that works with low-grade water sources such as seawater or wastewater and replaces precious metals with more common and affordable ones like nickel and iron. This makes the process more accessible, more sustainable, and better suited for real-world use.

For green hydrogen to scale up and play a central role in the clean energy transition, the way we produce it must become cleaner, cheaper, and more resilient. ANEMEL is helping make that shift possible.

The breakthrough

Common materials, low-grade water, and high performance

ANEMEL, short for Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolysis from Low-grade Water, offers a new path forward. Coordinated by the University of Galway and supported by €3.31 million in EIC Pathfinder funding from 2022 to 2026, the project has developed an electrolyser that runs on non-potable water sources such as seawater and wastewater. It also avoids the use of rare and expensive metals by relying on abundant alternatives like nickel and iron.

This approach not only reduces costs and environmental impact but also delivers outstanding performance. Electrolysers developed in the project have proven to operate for more than 2,000 hours and reach current densities of up to 10 A per square centimetre. That represents a performance boost 500,000 times greater than earlier systems.

From idea to impact

With the EIC support at every step

The EIC Pathfinder support played a key role in bringing ANEMEL’s vision to life. It provided early-stage funding, opened doors to a dynamic network of innovators, and encouraged collaboration with other projects in the EIC portfolio. One example of this synergy is a joint award with the sister project ELOBIO through the Ulysses programme, which helped both teams advance their shared technologies.

Thanks to EIC-organised workshops and innovation events, ANEMEL also gained visibility and recognition. The project was featured on the European Commission’s Innovation Radar, which helped raise its profile and attract new partners. Among them was the Josef Stefan Institute, which joined the consortium through an EIC hop-on call.

What’s next

From lab to market

ANEMEL is now entering a new phase. In 2024 and 2025, the team is testing larger system designs and getting ready for commercial deployment. The aim is to enable decentralised and sustainable hydrogen production in coastal areas, industrial sites, and regions where clean water is limited but renewable energy is available.

By rethinking both the method and the materials used to produce hydrogen, ANEMEL brings us closer to a greener energy system that is more resilient and accessible to all.