Accelerate Sustainable Enabling of Oxygen Evolution Reaction Catalyst for Water Electrolysis

Descripción del proyecto

Electrocatalizadores de bajo coste para la electrólisis del agua

La síntesis a gran escala de electrocatalizadores respetuosos con el medio ambiente es esencial para la comercialización de la electrólisis del agua mediante membrana de intercambio protónico (PEMWE, por sus siglas en inglés), que constituye un método clave para la producción de hidrógeno renovable. Actualmente, los elevados costes de los electrocatalizadores de iridio, platino y rutenio representan el 40 % de los gastos de fabricación de PEMWE. Con el apoyo de las acciones Marie Skłodowska-Curie, el proyecto ABLE OER pretende desarrollar electrocatalizadores escalables y de bajo coste mediante síntesis de flujo continuo por microondas, consiguiendo una reducción del 80 % en la carga de iridio y una reducción del 70 % en los costes de material mediante el uso de nanocerámicas y metales del grupo del platino secundarios. Dicho proceso supone un ahorro del 50 %. En general, el objetivo es facilitar la adopción de la tecnología PEMWE y reducir los costes del hidrógeno.

Objetivo

Large scale synthesis of efficient, durable, and environmentally friendly electrocatalysts is key for commercialization of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), which is a vital route for renewable H2 production. State-of-the-art PEMWE is limited by the high price of the electrocatalysts which are composed of Ir, Pt and Ru (40% of fabrication costs of PEMWE). Against this background, the project ABLE OER aims to develop, characterize, and electrochemically evaluate low-cost, and up-scale supported electrocatalysts from commercial and recycled precursors using microwave continuous flow synthesis (MWCFS). The specific objectives of ABLE OER are to provide proof-of-concepts on i) synthesis of active and robust supported-OER catalyst, which reduces Ir loading by 80% at equivalent activity; ii) incorporation of abundant nano ceramics (as support material) and secondary PGMs for OER catalyst to reduce material cost by 70%; iii) an up-scalable continuous OER catalyst synthesis process, which lowers the production cost by 50%. The novel catalyst structure and the associated synthesis process will accelerate technological advancement and societal adoption of the PEMWE technology. My experience in inorganic materials and electrochemistry combined with the expertise of the host group in electrocatalysis for water splitting and recycling will synergistically contribute to achieving the ambitious aims of this project, which will be implemented at the University of Southern Denmark. I will learn new techniques in up-scale production of catalysts, mature my skills as an independent researcher, and increase my network to nurture international collaborations. The results of this project have the potential to greatly reduce the cost of H2 generated from renewable sources and thus transform the European and global energy sector.