Advancements in Carbon Dioxide based Electrochemical Power Sources

工业脱碳和具有成本效益的长期可再生能源发电和储存是向清洁能源和环境可持续工业过渡过程中最重要的技术挑战。美国能源部的目标是，到2030年，与今天的锂离子电池相比，用于电网规模长期储能的电池的成本要降低90%。考虑到用于电池的矿物的价格上涨（例如，碳酸锂价格于二零二一年上升88%）、供应链的地理限制（例如，锂、钴、钒）以及相关的采矿和矿物加工温室气体排放，电池领域的创新对于满足呈指数增长的需求至关重要。为了在单个设备中实现能量存储与二氧化碳利用相结合，Gyenge博士发明了一类新的氧化还原液流电池，即二氧化碳氧化还原液流电池（CRB）。这种非金属电池技术现在受到美国、欧盟、中国、日本、澳大利亚等国家授予的专利的全球保护。在本实施例中，CRB分别在负极和正极使用CO2/甲酸盐和溴/溴化物氧化还原对。考虑到从工业排放源捕获和净化CO2的成本比典型的电池金属便宜几个数量级，与主要排放源（如水泥和石化厂、燃煤电厂等）共同定位的成规模CRB，可以提供突破性的能源储存和工业脱碳解决方案。 在上一个NSERC发现周期的成功基础上，该周期专注于验证CRB概念，并导致成立了一家屡获殊荣的初创公司（Agora Energy Technologies），本提案旨在在电催化和电化学工程的核心领域产生新的发现和创新。因此，提出了以下四个连贯的项目：a）有机促进剂/介体对于双功能CO2 /甲酸盐电催化的作用，B）用于甲酸盐氧化的金属间非Pd催化剂的研究，c）用于溴/溴化物正电极的Magnéli相氧化钛电催化剂，用于增强的耐腐蚀性、耐久性和活性，和d）混合反应物硼氢化物- CO2/空气燃料电池（称为CO2-to-Power）。这是一个原创和独特的研究计划，为参与的HQP提供了机会：三个博士，两个硕士和二十个本科研究助理（在资助周期期间），做出创造性和高影响力的贡献。HQP在电催化、表面科学和电化学工程方面获得的技能对加拿大电池、燃料电池和二氧化碳利用工业和学术部门非常有价值。更广泛地说，拟议的研究计划将推动加拿大在电化学电源和电化学工程方面的创新卓越。

Industrial decarbonization and cost-effective, long-duration, renewable energy generation and storage are among the most important technological challenges in the transition to clean energy sources and to environmentally sustainable industries. The US Department of Energy target for batteries for grid-scale long-duration energy storage requires a 90% cost reduction by 2030 compared to today's lithium-ion battery. Considering the price increases of minerals for batteries (e.g., Li carbonate prices increased 88% in 2021), the geographical limitations of the supply chain (e.g., for Li, Co, V) and the associated mining and mineral processing GHG emissions, innovations in the field of batteries are essential to satisfy the exponentially increasing demand. To address energy storage combined with CO2 utilization in a single device, Dr. Gyenge invented a new class of redox flow batteries, namely, the CO2 redox flow battery (CRB). This non-metal battery technology is now globally protected with patents granted in USA, European Union, China, Japan, Australia, etc. In the present embodiment the CRB uses the CO2/formate and bromine/bromide redox couples at the negative and positive electrode, respectively. Considering that the cost of CO2 capture and purification from industrial emitters is orders of magnitude cheaper than typical battery metals, a scaled CRB co-localized with major emitters (such as cement and petrochemical plants, coal power plants, etc.), could offer breakthrough energy storage and industrial decarbonization solutions. Building on the success of the previous NSERC Discovery cycle which was focused on validating the CRB concept and led to the founding of an award-winning start-up company (Agora Energy Technologies), the present proposal aims to generate novel discoveries and innovations in core areas of electrocatalysis and electrochemical engineering. Thus, four coherent projects are proposed as follows: a) Role of organic promoters / mediators for bifunctional CO2 / formate  electrocatalysis, b) Investigation of intermetallic non-Pd catalysts for formate oxidation , c) Magnéli-phase titanium oxide electrocatalysts for the bromine/bromide positive electrode for enhanced corrosion resistance, durability and activity, and d) Mixed-reactant borohydride - CO2/air fuel cell (referred to as CO2-to-Power). This is an original and unique research program that gives the opportunity for the participating HQPs: three PhDs, two Master, and twenty undergraduate research assistants (during the duration of the grant cycle), to make creative and high impact contributions. The skills that will be gained by HQPs in electrocatalysis, surface science and electrochemical engineering will be very valuable for the Canadian battery, fuel cell and CO2 utilization industrial and academic sectors. More broadly, the proposed research program will advance the Canadian innovation excellence in electrochemical power sources and electrochemical engineering.