Advancements in Carbon Dioxide based Electrochemical Power Sources

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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.