Project description
Affordable cathode materials to boost hydrogen production potential
The EU aspires to produce more renewable hydrogen by 2030, yet current electrolysis technologies are too expensive and inefficient. In particular, many hydrogen production systems use costly materials such as platinum-group metals (PGMs), which are unstable and hard to recycle. The EU-funded MATCATH2.0 project plans to create new, PGM-free cathodes made from abundant, sustainable materials. These cathodes will be affordable and will involve a special coating process. They should help reduce costs by 75 % and improve efficiency, cutting the levelised cost of hydrogen by 20 %. The project will test and scale up this technology from TRL 4 to 6, helping make hydrogen production more sustainable and viable for the future.
Objective
The European Union's ambitious 2030 target for renewable hydrogen production is impeded by the cost-efficiency of current electrolysis technologies. The prevalent use of bare nickel substrates or those coated with costly platinum-group metals (PGMs) and critical raw materials (CRMs) in cathodes often leads to contamination and instability, resulting in substantial efficiency losses. These issues, exacerbated by the high costs and complexities of traditional catalyst coating methods, highlight the critical need for innovative solutions to advance electrolysis technology and achieve the EU's hydrogen production targets.
Matteco is at the vanguard of revolutionizing hydrogen production with the development of PGM-free cathodes that utilize advanced, earth-abundant catalyst materials and a proprietary substrate coating method. This innovation is set to achieve a significant 75% reduction in cathode costs and a 20% decrease in the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH), aligning with the EU's goals for decarbonization, CRM reduction, and circular economy promotion. Matteco's cathodes are engineered to outperform existing PGM-based alternatives, ensuring sustainable production, longer component life, and recyclability at end-of-life.
The MATCATH2.0 project represents Matteco's strategic commitment to advance our novel thermal reductive catalyst activation process for cathodes at a commercial scale. Through stringent quality control and extensive internal and external testing with potential customers, Matteco will validate the cathodes' exceptional performance and stability. Advancing from TRL 4 to TRL 6, MATCATH2.0 will ensure a scalable and cost-effective production method, drawing on product validation and customer feedback. With a 36-month timeline and a 2,49 M€ investment, MATCATH2.0 is poised to propel the hydrogen economy towards a more sustainable and economically viable future.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences electrochemistry electrolysis
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry transition metals
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2024-TRANSITION-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
46980 VALENCIA
Spain
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.