Fuel Cells GRC and GRS - Technological Progress and New Scientific Insights

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Principal Investigator: Peter N PintauroProposal No: 1440218 Title: Fuel Cells GRC and GRS - Technological Progress and New ScientificA fuel cell is a device which converts fuel directly into electricity for use in portable power systems or electric cars. The fuels can be obtained from renewable resources or from non-renewable resources such as natural gas. This award provides travel and registration funds for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and junior researchers to attend the Fuel Cells Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The GRC will be held August 3-8, 2014 with a preceding GRS on August 2-3, 2014. Gordon Conferences and Seminars provide a setting where researchers from around the world can present their most recent results. The conferences foster informal discussions and networking that occur within outside of the organized lecture sessions. Presentations and formal discussions between the speakers and audience provide valuable feedback on current research efforts and clarification of technical issues. Informal one-on-one interactions help seed new ideas and new collaborations that will assist in moving fuel cell research and development forward. This format is particularly appropriate for the fuel cell field, which has enjoyed a development and commercialization pathway that is grounded in scientific advances and understanding of fundamental phenomena.Fuel cell researchers have made significant advances leading to commercial devices. Several automakers plan to introduce fuel cell powered cars to the general public in the near future. The first generation proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell designs are relatively mature. Cost and long-term component durability, however, are still important technical and commercialization issues. So there continues to be a need to investigate new fuel cell component materials and system designs for transportation (autos, trucks, and buses), portable power, grid storage and load leveling, residential power, and military use. Today, there is an active fuel cell R&D community involving industry, national laboratories, and academia. These scientists and engineers are making major breakthroughs that will further improve the durability and performance of fuel cells, while dropping system and operating costs. In this context, the speaker and poster programs for the GRC and GRS have been developed to consider what comes next for fuel cells and related technologies. Presenters will focus on the limits of present-day technologies, asking and answering how and what science might circumvent those limits. Topical sessions at the GRC will focus on catalysts, new electrode architectures, multi-scale modeling, membranes, and MEA durability. Related technical areas will also be explored, where achievements and progress on proton exchange membrane fuel cells over the years have been optimally leveraged. These emerging technical areas include regenerative fuel cells and flow batteries, alkaline fuel cells, and fuel cells on a silicon microchip. Above all, the meeting organizers seek to maintain the predominantly scientific flavor of the GRC and GRS that is the hallmark of this conference venue.