Design, Program, Evolve: Engineering efficient electrochemical devices for a net-zero world

电化学设备(燃料电池、电解器等)处于推动实现“净零世界”的最前沿，氢作为重要的能量存储介质和燃料，用于可持续衍生电力的应用。即使能源系统预计将朝着基本上无化石燃料的系统发展，化学过程仍将需要二氧化碳分离。这项拟议的工作建立在曼彻斯特大学、纽卡斯尔大学和伦敦大学学院之间的合作基础上，该合作在过去五年中蓬勃发展，旨在开发更高效和更强大的技术，以实现碳负值工业环境。燃料电池能够在更高的温度下运行而不加湿，这意味着所需的设备数量减少，从而降低了成本。这也意味着可以使用潜在更便宜的催化剂，燃料的纯度不需要严格控制，所有这些都导致了更便宜和更高效的系统。燃料电池和电解器之间的重叠非常重要，因为电解器只是相反的燃料电池；同样的类似问题也很明显。此外，一种令人兴奋的气体分离(二氧化碳去除)电化学过程正在开发中，同样在发展挑战方面存在显著重叠。这项提议建立了一支拥有互补技能的研究人员团队，以应对突出的挑战。审查系统中发生的过程的非常高水平的表征专业知识与正在进行的电化学开发之间的协同作用意味着，开发和优化可以快速进行，并分享理解，以解决实施这些关键技术的障碍的重叠性质。

Electro-chemical devices (fuel cells, electrolysers etc) are at the forefront of the drive to a 'net-zero world' with hydrogen as an important energy storage medium and fuel for the application of sustainably derived electricity. Even with the projected development of the energy system towards a largely fossil-fuel free system, CO2 separation will continue to be required for chemical processes. The work proposed builds on the collaboration between the Universities on Manchester, Newcastle and UCL which has flourished over the past five years, to develop more efficient and robust technologies to achieve a carbon negative industrial landscape.The ability to operate fuel cells at higher temperatures without humidification means that the amount of equipment needed and hence cost is reduced. It also means that potentially cheaper catalysts can be used, and the purity of the fuel does not need to be rigorously controlled, all of which leads to cheaper and more efficient systems. The overlap between fuel cells and electrolysers is very significant as an electrolyser is simply a fuel cell in reverse; as such similar problems are manifest. In addition, an exciting electrochemical process for gas separation (CO2 removal) is under development, again with significant overlap in terms of developmental challenges.This proposal builds a team of researchers with complimentary skills to tackle the challenges highlighted. The synergies between the very high-level characterisation expertise to examine the processes taking place in the systems, coupled with the electro-chemical developments which are on-going, mean that development and optimisation can take place quickly with understanding being shared to tackle the overlapping nature of the obstacles to implementation of these vital technologies.