SBIR Phase I: Engineering Scalability of Durable Low-Noble-Metal-Content Fuel Cell Catalysts

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响和商业潜力将是氢燃料电池商业上可行的催化剂技术的示范。在现有的能源市场中，客户的需求来自于可持续能源电网在存储和转换模块方面的具体要求，这些模块需要管理能源效率并满足严格的污染法规。氢燃料电池有潜力满足这些需求。拟议项目的潜在商业影响源于对清洁能源和可持续环境日益增长的社会兴趣和市场需求。这项技术将有助于替代化石燃料，减少固定发电厂和公路/越野运输的排放。该技术的发展将使燃料电池堆或部件的制造商受益，这些制造商目前受到高成本催化剂和燃料电池运行中催化剂寿命短的高制造成本的困扰。这项技术也有可能使农业无人机制造商受益，他们正在寻找一种替代的轻型、高效的能源包，具有长飞行时间和低/零污染。SBIR一期项目将开发一种新技术，使氢燃料电池具有低铂族金属含量的催化剂和具有高活性和耐久性的膜电极组件。目前燃料电池市场的关键难点是催化剂中铂族金属的高负荷和现有催化剂在使用过程中的耐久性差。目标是通过纳米工程的金属组成和合成的可扩展性，开发一种商业上可行的途径，以实现耐用和低铂含量的催化剂和膜电极组件。该研究和开发将完成三个主要任务，包括开发可扩展的合成路线，用于生产目标催化剂，制备膜电极组件，以及氢燃料电池的性能评估。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be the demonstration of a commercially viable catalyst technology for hydrogen fuel cells. In the existing energy market, customer needs arise from the specific requirements of sustainable energy grids in terms of storage and conversion modules that manage the energy efficiency and meet stringent regulations for pollution. Hydrogen fuel cells have the potential to address most of those requirements. The potential commercial impact of the proposed project stems from increasing societal interest and market needs in clean energy and a sustainable environment. The technology will contribute to the replacement of fossil fuels and reduce emissions from stationary power plants and on-road/off-road transportation. The proposed technology development will benefit the manufacturers of fuel cell stacks or parts which currently suffer from high manufacturing costs associated with high-cost catalysts and short lifetimes of the catalyst in fuel cell operation. The technology also has the potential to benefit the agriculture drone manufacturers seeking an alternative lightweight, highly efficient energy package with long flight duration and low/zero pollution. This SBIR Phase I project will develop a new technology that enables hydrogen fuel cells with catalysts containing a low percentage of platinum group metals and a membrane electrode assembly with high activity and durability. Key pain points in the fuel cell market are the high loading of platinum group metals in the catalysts and the poor durability of the current catalysts during operations. The goal is to develop a commercially viable route to the durable and low-platinum-content catalyst and membrane electrode assembly by nano-engineering the metal composition and synthesis scalability. The proposed research and development will accomplish three major tasks including the development of a scalable synthesis route for the production of the targeted catalyst, the preparation of the membrane electrode assembly, and the evaluation of the performance in the hydrogen fuel cells.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.