Research Projects

The objective of HIGHLANDER is to develop membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for Heavy-Duty Vehicles (HDV) with disruptive, novel components, targeting stack cost and size, durability, and fuel efficiency. The project will design, fabricate, and validate the HDV MEAs at cell and short stack level against heavy-duty relevant accelerated stress test and load profile test protocols. The unique approach of HIGHLANDER is to develop core fuel cell components in tandem, ensuring their greatest compatibility and lowest interface resistance: ionomer and reinforcement, catalyst and catalyst support, catalyst layer composition and property gradient in tune with the bipolar plate flow-field geometry. Materials screening efforts will be supported by the development and use of improved predictive degradation models bridging scales from reaction sites to cell level. Model parameterisation is implemented using experimental characterisation data at materials, component, and cell level. HIGHLANDER brings together a European supply chain of fuel cell materials and components producers and an OEM stack developer that makes this approach possible. HIGHLANDER aims to bring about a significant reduction in stack cost and fuel consumption through improvement of catalyst coated membrane performance and development of a new, lower cost single-layer gas diffusion layer. It will aim to achieve the 1.2 W/cm² at 0.65 V performance target at 0.3 g Pt/kW or below, meeting a lifetime target of 20,000 h.  Sustainability considerations include benchmarking of fluorine-free membranes for HDV MEA application and re-use of platinum in the context of a circular economy.

Website: https://highlander-fuelcell.eu/

_{This project has received funding from the Clean Hydrogen Partnership under grant agreement No 101101346. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.}

In the BMBF-funded project H2Meer, advanced seawater electrolyzer cell designs and operation modes are developed in order to achieve industrially relevant performances for low-cost green hydrogen (H2) production in (hyper-)arid regions. The main challenges for a sustained direct electrolytic splitting of seawater lie in the control of unfavorable precipitation of poorly soluble metal hydroxides and carbonates, as well as the identification of selective, corrosion-resistant materials. Despite showing high catalytic activities, state-of-the-art platinum group metals (PGMs) undergo dissolution from the electrodes over time, which can be attributed to the presence of chloride anions in saline electrolytes. In H2Meer, entirely noble-metal-free cell components - featuring novel nanostructured catalyst materials and porous transport layers (PTLs), as well as customized anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) and ionomers - are synthesized. At the anode, highly-selective OER electrocatalysts are utilized for a minimization of the undesirable formation of toxic chlorine (Cl2) gas or hypochlorite (OCl-) species.

DaCapo:  Dynamically driven rutile-based electrocatalysts for acidic oxygen evolution beyond stationary efficiency

The DaCapo project is a part of the DFG-funded Priority Programm SPP 2080 “Catalysts and reactors under dynamic conditions for energy storage and conversion“.

With the DaCapo project, we aim at contributing to the fundamental understanding of dynamic operation of electrocatalytic systems and to explore the extent to which an electrochemical reaction, that is the relevant O2 evolution reaction, can be controlled and possibly enhanced via dynamic resonance theory. We will form a bridge between atomic insights into the dynamics of active site and active surface phases of well-defined catalytic model surfaces and real catalyst materials and multiscale simulations of their dynamic behavior, exemplified by rutile based OER catalysts (IrO2, RuO2, mixed (Ru-Ir-Ti)O2) under the influence of forced oscillatory operation. This bridge will be achieved by combining UHV and in situ/operando surface science, electrochemical methods, and theoretical modelling.

The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has shown that merely reducing CO₂ emissions is no longer enough to achieve the two-degree target. We must also capture emissions that have already been produced and store them in the long term. CO₂ capture from the air and its storage represents an important technical solution for reducing CO₂ in the atmosphere in the early stages of development.

The aim of the research project DACStorE (A Comprehensive Approach to Harnessing the Innovation Potential of Direct Air Capture and Storage for Reaching CO₂-Neutrality) is to prepare a sustainable market ramp-up of DACS technology. Six Helmholtz centers, in cooperation with the Technical University of Berlin, are researching technical solutions for CO₂ capture from the air and its storage in geological formations. The focus is on three technical approaches to CO₂ capture, which are being researched, compared and further developed to prototypes in an Open Technology Approach. A major focus is on reducing energy requirements and on scale-up opportunities by developing and testing suitable materials, designs and operational concepts. Requirements that large-scale industrial production imposes are also addressed in the early development phase. In addition to the technical properties, the economic and ecological aspects of the technologies investigated, their acceptance in society and legal framework conditions are examined. The aim is to identify coordinated technology options and operating conditions for different locations. Furthermore, important requirements are to be pointed out to the technology developers in an early phase of development in order to enable a successful market introduction and market ramp-up.

https://www.fz-juelich.de/de/iek/iek-3/projekte/dacstore

_{This project has received funding from the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Associa-tion (grant agreement No. KA2-HSC-12, ‘A Comprehensive Approach to Harnessing the Innovation Potential of Direct Air Capture and Storage for Reaching CO2 -Neutrality’, DACStorE).}

The Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) technology emerging from the automotive industry is of high interest for the future aeronautic industry. While automotive industry fuel cell (FC) systems are usually limited to 100 kW, aircrafts require a significantly greater amount of power (multi-MW) and must operate at different temperatures and pressures while maintaining the system's safety and reliability levels according to aeronautical standards.

In the BRAVA project, we are working on novel catalyst/support systems with a focus on high durability and optimized dispersion of particles at high platinum loadings. The intermetallic catalysts are synthesized through scalable wet impregnation synthesis with consecutive heat treatment and characterized for their electrochemical performance, as well as their physicochemical properties.

In cooperation with our partners, we integrate our catalysts in the fuel cell stack to perform under harsh conditions for aviation.                                                                     

Website: https://brava-project.eu/

_{“Funded by the European Union under grant number 10110149. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking can be held responsible for them.”}

To support the growing demand for electrochemical energy storage, complementary or even superior technological solutions over traditional Li-ion batteries are urgently needed. Aluminum batteries are particularly attractive candidates owing to their high projected volumetric energy density, low cost, high safety. Moreover, being the most abundant metal on the Earth crust, aluminum also matches the sustainability requirement that is mandatory to develop durable technologies. A critical feature of Al3+ intercalation chemistry is the high charge density of this cation that ultimately affects the electrolyte properties and the ability of host frameworks to reversibly accommodate a large proportion of Al3+ thus generating high energy. In this German-French consortium project, we study fundamental aspects as well as more applied cell-related challenges of the interfacial processes and materials chemistry pertinent to high energy density aluminum batteries. We achieve this by working on a range of cell components and cell processes simultaneously, such as the electrolytes, electrode materials and electrode-electrolyte interfaces. We are focusing on oxide-based electrode materials with controlled amounts of cationic vacancies, that were shown in our earlier work to enable solid-state diffusion of Al3+ while providing additional insertion sites. Concomitantly, physicochemical properties of suitable electrolytes and their interface with Al and the positive electrode material are characterized using a wide array of in-situ und ex-situ techniques, such as X-ray Absorption, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, high resolution Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray scattering and pair distribution function and others. Specifically, exploiting our defect engineering approach, the French group at SORBONNE UNIVERSITÉ (Leader: Associate Prof. Damien Dambournet) is designing novel intercalation compounds consisting of oxidic networks with unprecedented large content of cationic vacancies. We at TU Berlin are studying the electrochemical dynamics of Al3+ intercalation of the new materials designed by the French group.

SELECTCO2 aims to contribute to the electrification of the chemicals industry through the development of highly selective and efficient devices for the conversion of CO₂ to high value products at low temperatures and pressures. It is well known in the chemicals industry that costs due to separations can amount to 60-80% of the total costs of the chemicals. This same general cost percentage holds in bio-based chemicals as well Electrochemical CO₂ Reduction (ECO2R) allows the unique ability to start with a single reactant in CO₂ and use catalysis to build up selectively to a given molecule. Direct conversion to a specific product allows for the mitigation or even elimination of separation costs and can greatly reduce the costs of producing a given chemical.

https://www.selectco2.eu/index.php/en/

_{The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement SELECTCO2 No. 851441.}

http://crescendo-fuelcell.eu/

 Literature:

1.            Luo, F.; Choi, C. H.; Primbs, M. J. M.; Ju, W.; Li, S.; Leonard, N. D.; Thomas, A.; Jaouen, F.; Strasser, P., Accurate Evaluation of Active-Site Density (SD) and Turnover Frequency (TOF) of PGM-Free Metal–Nitrogen-Doped Carbon (MNC) Electrocatalysts using CO Cryo Adsorption. ACS Catalysis 2019,9 (6), 4841-4852.

GAIA aims to developing a high performance automotive MEA that provides the materials and designs that satisfy the cost target by providing high power density at high current density, while also attaining the other essential objectives of durability, reliability and high operation temperature. Its intention is to:

• Realise the potential of these components in next generation MEAs showing a step-change in performance that will largely surpass the state of the art by delivering a beginning of life power density of 1.8 W/cm² at 0.6 V;
• Validate the MEA performance and durability in full size cell short stacks, with durability tests of 1,000 h with extrapolation to 6,000 h
• Provide a cost assessment study that demonstrates that the MEAs can achieve the cost target of 6 €/kW for an annual production rate of 1 million square metres.

GAIA will develop and bring together advanced critical PEM fuel cell components. These components will be integrated into a fuel cell that is capable of delivering on the most challenging of the performance, cost and durability targets required for large-scale automotive fuel cell commercialisation. New designs, architectures, constructions and deposition methods will be used at the level of the components and at the level of their integration in the catalyst layer, where novel constructions and coating methods will be used. While some of the materials and components are early developments with the technology concept formulated, the majority have already been proven experimentally. These components will be further advanced, optimised and integrated into next generation automotive MEAs to demonstrate the application of the technology.

_{The GAIA project has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (now Clean Hydrogen Partnership) under grant agreement No 826097. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.”}