Renewable Energy through New Electrolysis catalysts for Water splitting

Description du projet

Développer des catalyseurs moins chers pour le craquage de l’eau

Le changement climatique est en train de devenir la menace la plus sérieuse à laquelle l’humanité est confrontée. Les énergies renouvelables et les technologies de stockage de l’énergie figurent en tête de liste des solutions proposées. L’une de ces solutions est l’électrolyse à membrane échangeuse de protons, qui produit de l’hydrogène en dissociant l’eau dans des membranes échangeuses de protons. L’emploi d’électrocatalyseurs coûteux contenant des terres rares, notamment l’iridium, le ruthénium et le platine, nuit toutefois à l’attrait de cette option. Le projet RENEW, financé par l’UE, compte remédier à cette situation en menant des recherches et en étudiant les catalyseurs d’oxydation de l’eau afin de développer un catalyseur moins coûteux utilisant des métaux plus abondants comme le cobalt, le fer et le nickel. Les résultats de ce projet pourraient potentiellement transformer les secteurs de l’énergie dans le monde entier.

Objectif

Inexpensive, renewable energy storage is vital for the future of humanity. Generating H2 via water splitting in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis is a promising route for renewable fuel production. Wide-spread use of PEM electrolysis is limited by the high cost of the electrocatalysts which are composed of rare-earth metals such as Ir, Ru, and Pt (the catalysts being ~40% of the fabrication cost of PEM cells). Renewable Energy through New Electrolysis catalysts for Water splitting (RENEW) aims to develop, characterize, and mechanistically understand water oxidation catalysts (WOCatalysts) based on earth-abundant metals embedded in planar and nanostructured electrodes to replace rare-earth metals in PEM electrolysis. The specific goals of RENEW are (i) fabricate planar electrode/catalysts composed earth abundant metals such as Co, Fe, and Ni and based on recent advances in stabilizing these catalyts; (ii) determine the intrinsic activity, electrocatalytic current density, and lifetime of the electrode/catalyst assemblies; (iii) develop an understanding of the relationship between the electrode substrate and the stability and activity of the WOCatalysts; and (iv) fabricate nano-structured catalyst/electrode assemblies based on the most promising results of specific goals i-iii.
The results of this project have the potential to greatly reduce the cost of H2 generated from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, or geothermal and thereby transform the European and global energy sectors, which aligns with the Horizon 2020 work programme of “Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy”. Throughout this project I will learn new techniques relevant to industrial catalysis, develop my skills as an independent researcher and mentor, and expand my network to include international collaborations and relationships as I transition to an established researcher.