SBIR Phase I: Ammonia and Syngas Impurity Tolerance for High Temperature - Proton Exchange Membrane (HT-PEM) Fuel Cells

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种燃料灵活的高温质子交换膜（HT-PEM）燃料电池，该电池可以使用两种无碳燃料运行：氨和合成气，两者都是从废弃生物质中产生的。燃料灵活的HT-PEM燃料电池是唯一适合快速采用作为一个完整的系统，可以运行在各种燃料，只有轻微的修改，其燃料重整器的设计。该技术的初始市场是中小型无人机（UAV），2020年价值11亿美元（预计到2029年将增长240%）。由于无人机市场对重量和耐用性的严格要求，预计将在移动的和固定电源应用中采用该技术，包括备用电源、船用电源和远程发电。对这些燃料/技术组合的研究尚未得到广泛研究，将有助于取代化石燃料燃烧技术，提高美国的经济竞争力，并支持国防。该项目的智力价值源于HT-PEM燃料电池能够在各种前期燃料源上运行，只需对最终组装系统进行微小修改，同时仍然提供大多数应用中所需的关键属性。对于新发电设备的广泛采用，剩余燃料不可知是一个关键的技术特征，正如内燃机的持久成功所证明的那样。HT-PEM燃料电池可以作为类似的核心技术，为全球从化石燃料的过渡做出贡献。然而，当对由废弃生物质产生的重整氨和合成气操作HT-PEM燃料电池时，存在最少的研究，这两种流行的可再生燃料预计将在这种过渡期间广泛使用。这项研究的关键问题是：在重整氨和合成气中常见的杂质的最大浓度是多少，仍然允许HT-PEM燃料电池在技术上和商业上可行？主要目标是概述HT-PEM燃料电池在不断增加的污染物水平下运行时的性能，并确定停止损失机制。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is the development of a fuel-flexible, high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cell that can operate on two carbon-free fuels: ammonia and syngas, both produced from waste biomass. The fuel-flexible HT-PEM fuel cell is uniquely suited for rapid adoption as a complete system that can run on a variety of fuels with only minor modifications to its fuel reformer design. The initial market for this technology is small to mid-sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and these were valued at $1.1 billion in 2020 (expected to grow 240% by 2029). Due to the stringent weight and durability requirements in the UAV market, adoption of this technology in mobile and stationary power applications including backup power, marine power, and remote power generation is anticipated. Investigation of these fuel/technology combinations have not been widely researched and will contribute to the displacement of fossil fuel combustion technologies, lead to increased economic competitiveness of the United States, and support the national defense.The intellectual merit of this project stems from the HT-PEM fuel cells' ability to run on a diverse set of upfront fuel sources with only minor modification of the final assembled system, while still providing the key attributes required in most applications. For widespread adoption of new electricity generating devices, remaining fuel agnostic is a key technological trait, as proven by the enduring success of the internal combustion engine. The HT-PEM fuel cell can serve as a similar core technology, contributing to the global transition from fossil fuels. Nevertheless, there exists minimal research when operating a HT-PEM fuel cell on reformed ammonia and syngas generated from waste biomass, two popular renewable fuels expected to be widely used during this transition. The key question for this research is: what is the maximum concentration of impurities commonly found in reformed ammonia and syngas that will still allow a HT-PEM fuel cell to be technically and commercially viable? The key objectives are to outline the HT-PEM fuel cell performance while operating on ever increasing contaminant levels and identify the stop-loss mechanisms.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.