Project description
Fuelling Europe’s green energy with recycled rare materials
The machines needed to produce hydrogen, such as the proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers, rely on rare and expensive materials, including iridium and specialised plastics. The EU-funded IRION project aims to create a circular system for hydrogen tech. Instead of throwing away old equipment, the team has developed ways to recover these precious materials from used parts. Using eco-friendly methods such as green solvents and ionic liquids, they strip out the valuable components so they can be reused. To ensure the recycled parts are just as good as new ones, the project uses high-tech manufacturing, including inkjet printing, to build new membranes. This approach lowers the cost of green hydrogen.
Objective
IRION addresses the urgent need for sustainable solutions in the hydrogen economy by developing innovative recycling and manufacturing technologies for critical components of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs). The current reliance on scarce and expensive materials, such as iridium and fluorinated ionomers, poses significant economic, environmental, and geopolitical challenges for large-scale green hydrogen deployment. IRION tackles these issues by recovering these valuable materials from end-of-life catalyst coated membranes (CCMs), enabling their reintegration into new components and supporting the circularity of the PEMWE value chain. the project focuses on eco-friendly, low-impact recovery processes, including ionic liquids, DES, other green solvents and electrodeposition which offer high selectivity and efficiency while avoiding hazardous emissions associated with traditional methods like calcination. The recovered iridium and ionomers are purified and reused to manufacture new CCMs using advanced techniques such as inkjet printing and sputtering, ensuring optimal catalyst dispersion and membrane integration. IRION also includes the validation of recycled CCMs in real PEMWE systems, assessing their performance and durability compared to commercial materials. Comprehensive life cycle (LCA) and techno-economic (TEA) assessments will be performed to evaluate the environmental and economic viability of the proposed solutions. Moreover, the project will explore eco-design strategies for stack components, facilitating their future dismantling and recyclability. Ultimately, IRION supports Europe’s objectives under the Green Deal and Critical Raw Materials Act, reducing dependency on imports and minimizing environmental impacts through a circular and scalable approach to green hydrogen technologies.
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.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry transition metals
- 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.2.5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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.
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
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.
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.
HORIZON-JU-RIA - HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Actions
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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-JU-CLEANH2-2025
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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 Paterna
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.