High Performance Low temperature Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell (DEFC)

该项目符合燃料电池和氢技术计划，旨在通过有效利用生物衍生乙醇燃料来支持便携式燃料电池的部署。直接乙醇燃料电池（DEFC）可以取代目前的直接甲醇系统（DMFC），作为第二代技术，并降低成本，从而使燃料电池更好地渗透到消费电子市场。乙醇是便携式应用的理想燃料，因为它易于通过可再生原料（例如糖，淀粉和纤维素）获得，并且与甲醇相比毒性更低，能量密度更高。因此，该项目的关键创新目标是开发能够将乙醇完全氧化为二氧化碳的阳极催化剂，每个分子释放12个电子。如果该项目成功地实现了乙醇的这一目标，那么在低温燃料电池中直接使用一系列其他生物衍生醇，如丁醇和甘油，也是可能的。这将大大提高生物衍生燃料发电的效率。

This project fits into the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies program with the aim of supporting the deployment of portable fuel cells through efficient use of bio-derived ethanol fuels. Direct ethanol fuel cells, DEFCs, could replace current direct methanol systems, DMFCs, as a 2nd generation technology and allow cost reductions and thus greater penetration of fuel cells into the consumer electronics market. Ethanol is the ideal fuel for portable applications as it is readily available via renewable feedstocks (e.g. sugar, starch and cellulose) as well as being much less toxic and having higher energy density compared to methanol. The key innovative goal of the project, therefore, is the development of anode catalysts capable of full oxidation of ethanol to carbon dioxide with the release of 12 electrons per molecule. If the project is successful in achieving this for ethanol then the direct use of a range of other bio-derived alcohols such as butanol and glycerol in low temperature fuel cells may well also be possible. This would greatly increase the efficiency of bio-derived fuels in power generation.