SBIR Phase I: Polymer electrolyte membrane synthesis to enable low cost, durable fuel cells through novel material innovation

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发碱性阴离子交换膜（AAEM），以实现更低的成本和耐用的燃料电池。由于高成本，燃料电池技术的广泛采用一直是困难的，高成本主要是由于使用贵金属催化剂和昂贵的聚合物电解质组分。使用AAEM技术允许使用更便宜的非贵金属催化剂（例如不锈钢、镍、钴及其合金）。非贵金属具有容易的电化学反应动力学，并且在碱性操作条件下稳定，使其成为催化剂的主要候选者。此外，聚合物电解质（在这种情况下为AAEM）在大规模制造时应该比当前技术便宜。这项技术有可能通过降低成本和使燃料电池更具经济竞争力来实现燃料电池系统的广泛部署。该第一阶段研究项目的技术目标是减少AAEM合成途径中的步骤数量，同时减少时间并提高产量。这些步骤数量的减少将在聚合物的整体合成中提供时间和原材料的节省。反应产率的提高将确保更有效地利用原材料，最终将提供一种更可持续的途径来制造AAEM，同时提供一些额外的成本效益。增加反应产率和减少步骤数量将提供生产时间的减少，这可以直接与增加制造效率和降低劳动力成本相关。技术目标将为扩大AAEM的生产提供必要的信息。证明这些技术发展里程碑对于我们技术的进一步发展，特别是规模扩大和商业化至关重要。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop alkaline anion exchange membranes (AAEM) to enable lower cost and durable fuel cells. Widespread adoption of fuel cell technologies has been difficult due to high costs, which are mostly due to use of precious metal catalysts and the expensive polymer electrolyte components. Using AAEM technology allows the use less expensive non-precious metal catalysts (e.g. stainless steel, nickel, cobalt, and their alloys). Non-precious metals have facile electrochemical reaction kinetics and are stable under alkaline operating conditions making them prime candidates as catalysts. Moreover, the polymer electrolyte, in this case the AAEM, when manufactured at scale should be less expensive than the current technology. This technology has the potential to enable the widespread deployment of fuel cell systems by reducing cost and making fuel cells more economically competitive. The technical objectives of this Phase I research project are to decrease the number of steps in the synthesis pathway of AAEMs, while simultaneously reducing time and increasing yields. These reductions in the number of steps will provide time and raw materials savings in the overall synthesis of the polymer. The increased yield of the reaction will ensure more efficient use of raw materials that in the end will provide a more sustainable pathway to make the AAEMs, while providing some added cost benefits. Increasing the reaction yields and decreasing the number of steps will provide reductions in production time that can be directly related to increasing manufacturing efficiency and lowering labor costs. The technical objectives will provide necessary information to scale-up production of AAEMs. Proving these technical development milestones is of crucial importance for the further development, specifically scale-up, and commercialization of our technology.