Application - Alkaline Electrolyzer
Nickel mesh electrodes for alkaline water electrolysis.
Three nickel components. One cell. Get any of them wrong and the whole stack underperforms. Alkaline water electrolysis runs at 80–90°C in 25–30% KOH — conditions that chew through carbon steel in weeks and pit stainless within months. Nickel survives here. Not because it's inert (it isn't — Ni forms a protective NiO/Ni(OH)₂ surface film that self-heals in alkaline electrolyte) but because after 15 years of supplying AWE OEMs, we've learned that substrate geometry is just as important as metallurgy. A 0.01mm wire diameter deviation shifts open area by 2–3 percentage points. That's 50mV per cell. Across a 200-cell stack, that's 10 volts — the difference between a competitive LCOH and a project that doesn't pencil out.
22,200/mo
Top keyword
30-40 mesh
Electrode spec
60,000+h
Target lifetime
Three electrode positions
One cell, three nickel mesh applications.
Catalyst Support Substrate
Woven nickel mesh (30-40 mesh, 0.25-0.30 mm wire, plain weave, Ni201 grade, electropolished finish) as the mechanical substrate for Raney nickel catalyst coating. Ordered aperture geometry ensures identical electrical path length and catalyst loading across every unit cell of the electrode. ASTM B456 and ISO 9044 compliant.
Porous Transport Layer
Knitted nickel mesh (660-850 g/m2, 90-95% porosity, single jersey knit, Ni201 grade) as the compressible PTL between bipolar plate and electrode. The three-dimensional loop structure acts as an elastic spring - compresses under 5-15 bar stack clamping force, maintains electrical contact, and recovers when force is released. Interlock knit for large-area stacks.
Current Collector Lead Wire
Nickel wire (Ni201 grade, annealed temper, 0.5-2.0 mm diameter) connecting electrode elements to the busbar. Ni201 low-carbon grade prevents grain-boundary carbide precipitation that causes intergranular corrosion in Ni200 after 20,000+ hours in hot KOH. Minimum 30% elongation for forming and welding.
EEAT case study - Failure analysis
Creep-rupture at grain boundaries: why Ni201 matters for stack lifetime.
Nickel mesh electrodes in alkaline electrolyzers operating at 80-90 C in 30% KOH develop intergranular cracks after 30,000-50,000 hours when Ni200 (0.15% C max) is used. Post-mortem analysis reveals grain-boundary carbide precipitation (Ni3C) selectively attacked by hot KOH, creating a network of microscopic corrosion fissures at every wire crossover point. The combined creep-corrosion mechanism - tensile stress from stack compression opening fresh surface while KOH dissolves the carbide phase - accelerates degradation exponentially once initiated.
Root cause
Carbon content above 0.02% in Ni200 wire forms grain-boundary Ni3C precipitates. Hot KOH selectively dissolves carbides, initiating intergranular corrosion at approximately 900 wire contact points per cm2 of electrode area.
RAS solution
Specify Ni201-grade nickel mesh (0.02% C max) for all electrode components immersed in KOH above 80 C. Use interlock knitted mesh in high-stress PTL positions. Maintain wire diameter at or above 0.25 mm to reduce local stress at weave crossover points.
Outcome
Ni201 electrode substrates consistently exceed 60,000-hour lifetimes in field service. Carbon-controlled nickel eliminates the grain-boundary corrosion pathway. Combined with electropolished surface finish, electrode degradation rates are reduced by over 80% compared to standard Ni200 substrates.
Spec your AWE electrode mesh
Send us your current density, KOH concentration, and active area. We return a matched weave recommendation within one business day.