I-Corps: Metallic glass catalysts for energy conversion and storage

该I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是将高性能催化剂应用于燃料电池和电池等能量转换/储存装置。成功的商业化将大大推进电化学能量转换/储存中的纳米制造，并对许多清洁能源技术产生积极影响。拟议创新的典型客户包括广泛的高科技行业，这些行业可能会从这项技术的商业化中受益。一些例子包括燃料电池制造商，汽车工业，消费电子和储能公司。与现有技术相比，新型无定形催化剂的上级性能表明，该技术可能是新公司有吸引力的核心优势。因此，I-Corps项目将寻求了解该技术的应用是否存在市场机会以及任何潜在的衍生公司。I-Corps项目的重点是解决燃料电池和电池等能量转换/存储技术中的催化剂性能瓶颈。这将通过用新型无定形金属合金代替现有技术的纳米颗粒催化剂来实现。金属玻璃是一种完全非晶态的多组分合金，具有独特的性能和加工能力。它们可以以晶体形式不可用的各种组合物生产，因此它们的电子和催化特性可以被设计以实现上级性能。自支撑结构将用于这些新型无定形催化剂，其防止载体材料的溶解并显著提高耐久性。该项目的成功将导致用于电化学能源装置的高效和低成本催化材料的商业化。它将为新的清洁能源技术企业铺平道路。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the application of high performance catalysts for use in energy conversion/storage devices such as fuel cells and batteries. Successful commercialization will considerably advance nano-manufacturing in electrochemical energy conversion/storage and have a positive impact on a number of clean energy technologies. Typical customers for the proposed innovation include a broad spectrum of high-tech industries which will potentially benefit from commercialization of this technology. Some examples include fuel cell manufacturers, automotive industry, consumer electronics and energy storage companies. Superior performance of novel amorphous catalysts compared to state of the art suggests that this technology might be attractive core strength for a new company. As such, this I-Corps program will seek to understand whether a market opportunity exists around application of this technology and any potential spin-out company.This I-Corps project is focused on addressing catalyst performance bottlenecks in energy conversion/storage technologies such as fuel cells and batteries. This will be achieved by replacing state of the art nanoparticle catalysts with novel amorphous metallic alloys. Metallic glasses are fully amorphous multi-component alloys with unique combination of properties and processing ability. They can be produced in a wide range of compositions that are not available in crystalline form and therefore their electronic and catalytic characteristics can be engineered to achieve superior performance. A self-supporting architecture will be used for these novel amorphous catalysts, which prevent the dissolution of support material and significantly improve durability. The success of this project will lead to commercialization of highly-efficient and low-cost catalytic materials for electrochemical energy devices. It will pave the way for new clean energy technology ventures.