Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) have demonstrated high-rate H₂ production while concurrently treating wastewater, but the transition in scale from laboratory research to systems that can be practically applied has encountered challenges. It has been more than a decade since the first pilot-scale MEC was reported, and in recent years, many attempts have been made to overcome the barriers and move the technology to the market. This study provided a detailed analysis of MEC scale-up efforts and summarized the key factors that should be considered to further develop the technology. We compared the major scale-up configurations and systematically evaluated their performance from both technical and economic perspectives. We characterized how system scale-up impacts the key performance metrics such as volumetric current density and H₂ production rate, and we proposed methods to evaluate and optimize system design and fabrication. In addition, preliminary techno-economic analysis indicates that MECs can be profitable in many different market scenarios with or without subsidies. We also provide perspectives on future development needed to transition MEC technology to the marketplace.

微生物电解池 (MEC) 已证明具有高速率 H ₂生产的同时同时处理废水，但从实验室研究到可实际应用的系统的规模过渡遇到了挑战。自第一个 MEC 试点规模被报道以来已经十多年了，近年来，人们进行了许多尝试来克服障碍并将技术推向市场。本研究详细分析了 MEC 的扩大规模工作，并总结了进一步开发该技术应考虑的关键因素。我们比较了主要的放大配置，并从技术和经济角度系统地评估了它们的性能。我们描述了系统放大如何影响体积电流密度和 H _{2等关键性能指标}生产率，我们提出了评估和优化系统设计和制造的方法。此外，初步的技术经济分析表明，无论有没有补贴，MEC 都可以在许多不同的市场场景中盈利。我们还提供了将 MEC 技术转移到市场所需的未来发展的观点。