Canada-Germany joint research initiative on durable, cost-effective fuel cells

由于对能源系统脱碳和所有部门的零排放运输系统的日益迫切的需求，氢和燃料电池技术在全球范围内获得了巨大的动力。然而，大规模采用氢燃料电池电动汽车，在其在消费者市场上扩散之前，仍然需要大幅降低成本。氢燃料的成本和基础设施的可用性是市场采用的主要因素。对于汽车燃料电池，生产和运营成本也与材料在预期使用条件下的耐久性密切相关。提出的研究的总体目标是通过战略性催化剂层设计和生产方法来降低成本和提高燃料电池系统的耐久性。该项目将在该领域形成一个新的国际研究联盟，包括加拿大和德国的领先组织，由加拿大西蒙弗雷泽大学（SFU）燃料电池研究实验室（FCReL）和德国弗劳恩霍夫应用纳米技术中心（CAN）领导，涵盖所需的专业知识、设施和知识转化，以产生革命性的结果和成果。具体来说，此次合作将把FCReL在燃料电池设计和耐用性方面的丰富专业知识和研究工具与CAN在纳米结构电催化材料的设计和可扩展合成方面的能力结合起来。根据加拿大和德国各自国家氢战略的集体雄心以及运输和重工业脱碳的相关目标，通过加强两国世界领先的氢和燃料电池工业部门的国际竞争力，其结果将使加拿大和德国互利。

Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are gaining significant momentum worldwide due to the increasingly urgent need for decarbonization of energy systems and zero-emission transportation systems across all sectors. Large-scale adoption of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, however, still requires significant cost reductions prior to their diffusion within the consumer market. The cost of hydrogen fuel and infrastructure availability are major factors for market adoption. For automotive fuel cells, production and operational costs are also intimately linked to material durability for the intended use conditions. The overarching goal of the proposed research is to reduce cost and enhance durability of fuel cell systems by means of strategic catalyst layer design and production methods. The project will form a new international research consortium in this field, involving leading organizations in Canada and Germany led by Simon Fraser University (SFU) Fuel Cell Research Lab (FCReL) in Canada and Fraunhofer Center for Applied Nanotechnology (CAN) in Germany, covering the required expertise, facilities, and knowledge translation to generate transformative results and outcomes. Specifically, this partnership will merge FCReL's vast expertise and research tools on fuel cell design and durability with CAN's capabilities on design and scalable synthesis of nanostructured electrocatalytic materials. The outcomes will mutually benefit Canada and Germany by strengthening the international competitiveness of the world-leading hydrogen and fuel cell industry sector in both countries, in accordance with the collective ambitions of their respective national hydrogen strategies and associated goals for decarbonization of transportation and heavy industry.