SBIR Phase I: Nanocomposite Ionomers and Proton Exchange Membranes

SBIR第一阶段项目的更广泛影响推动了氢技术在重型和超重型应用中的转化。氢经济可能在制造、运输、储能和建筑能源领域产生约2.5万亿美元的经济价值。目前需要高湿度和低温度运行的膜使重型燃料电池系统中的燃料电池热和水管理组件变得复杂。建议的解决方案推动了作为替代膜的新膜的开发，以实现低湿度和高工作温度。这个SBIR第一阶段项目将使用多孔聚合物载体将具有低湿度和高温质子导电性的纳米复合材料转化为质子交换膜的标准解决方案。此外，该复合材料将以高体积分数添加，以在机械稳定性和较低的气体渗透率方面带来额外的好处。项目活动包括将材料转化为支撑膜、膜复合材料配方优化、关键膜性能的测量以及燃料电池组的演示。如果成功，该项目将生产新的质子交换膜，使其能够在低湿度-高温条件下运行，以简化燃料电池系统，同时延长系统的耐用性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this SBIR Phase I project advances the translation of hydrogen technologies in heavy duty and ultra-duty applications. The hydrogen economy could generate an estimated $2.5 T in economic value in the manufacturing, transportation, energy storage, and building energy, sectors. Current membranes that require high humidity levels and low temperatures for operation complicates fuel cell thermal and water management components in heavy duty fuel cell systems. The proposed solution advances the development of a new membrane serving as a drop-in replacement to enable low humidity and elevated operating temperatures.This SBIR Phase I project will use porous polymer supports to translate a nanocomposite material that exhibits both low humidity and elevated temperature proton conductivity into a standardized solution for a proton exchange membranes. Furthermore, the composite materials will be added at high volume fractions to confer additional benefits in mechanical stability and lower gas permeability. The project activities include material translation into supported membranes, membrane composite formulation optimization, measurements of key membrane properties, and demonstration in a fuel cell stack. If successful, the project would yield new proton exchange membranes that enable operation under low humidity – elevated temperature conditions to simplify fuel cell systems while extending system durability.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.