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

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/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，客户的需求源于可持续能源网在存储和转换模块方面的特定要求，这些模块可以管理能源效率并满足严格的污染法规。氢燃料电池有可能满足这些要求中的大部分。拟议项目的潜在商业影响源于对清洁能源和可持续环境的社会兴趣和市场需求的增加。该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。拟议的技术开发将使燃料电池堆或部件的制造商受益，这些制造商目前遭受与高成本催化剂相关的高制造成本和燃料电池操作中催化剂的短寿命。该技术也有可能使农业无人机制造商受益，这些制造商正在寻求一种替代的轻质、高效的能源包，具有长飞行时间和低/零污染的特点。 该SBIR第一阶段项目将开发一种新技术，使氢燃料电池具有含低比例铂族金属的催化剂和具有高活性和耐久性的膜电极组件。 燃料电池市场的关键痛点是催化剂中铂族金属的高负载量以及当前催化剂在运行期间的耐用性差。我们的目标是开发一个商业上可行的路线，耐用和低铂含量的催化剂和膜电极组件的纳米工程的金属组成和合成的可扩展性。 拟议的研究和开发将完成三项主要任务，包括开发用于生产目标催化剂的可扩展合成路线，制备膜电极组件，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估来支持的搜索.

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.