Objective
Despite H2 fuel cell technology pre-dating the internal combustion engine the technology has not progressed much in 100 years. All hydrogen fuel cells use precious (rare and expensive) metal catalysts to oxidise H2, and reduce O2, such as Pt. These “precious” metals currently prevent the widespread use of fuel cells. The US Department of Energy has set a target of 0.125g of Pt / kW energy produced from fuel cells, and a total cost of $30 /kW. The current record stands at 0.2 g Pt/kW and a cost of $36/kW. The automotive industry requires the current Pt content of fuel cells to be reduced by 1/3 to become economically viable. Pt is a major cost component and is clearly a problem. This project develops a way to reduce Pt content of fuel cells by half – falling well below DoE targets and those of the automotive industry. We do this by replacing rare and expensive Pt metal used to oxidize H2 on 1 side of the fuel cell with molecular catalysts made of B, C, Cl, and F elements – cheap and abundant materials!
The molecular catalysts that we have developed form “frustrated Lewis pairs” (FLP). A suitable Lewis acid and a Lewis base when combined form an FLP which can be used to heterolytically split H2. The resulting Lewis acid hydride is then oxidized at a carbon electrode, and the energetic driving force required to oxidise H2 into 2 H+ and 2e– is greatly reduced by as much as 610 mV (equivalent to catalyzing the reaction by 118 kJ mol-1) without using any Pt. This proposal seeks to build on this pioneering work. We have found that FLP reactions can occur at very electron deficient Lewis acids without needing a Lewis base! Instead we can use a common organic solvent, tetrahydrofuran, as the Lewis base, and form water tolerant Lewis acid catalysts, that cleave hydrogen in seconds on the same timescale as electrooxidation. This fund will allow us to develop aqueous FLP arylborane electrocatalysts and build prototype “frustrated fuel cells” as clean, cheap, energy devices.
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 catalysis electrocatalysis
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering automotive engineering
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels fuel cells
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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) ERC-2014-PoC
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
NR4 7TJ NORWICH
United Kingdom
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.