NSERC-DFG Sustain: Towards Computational Design of Hydrocarbon-Based Catalyst Coated Membranes for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolysis (ComDeWE)

• Applicants: Dr. Daniel Garcia-Sanchez; Dr.-Ing. Corinna Harms; Dr. Thomas Jahnke; Dr.-Ing. Carolin Klose
• Subject Area: Technical Chemistry ; Solid State and Surface Chemistry, Material Synthesis
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 534251491

The aim of the project ComDeWE is to design optimal wholly hydrocarbon proton exchange membrane electrolysis (PEMWE) cells with novel supported electrocatalyst by taking advantage of the numerical multi-scale modelling tools at the University of Alberta (U Alberta), and in-situ and ex-situ fabrication and characterization tools at the University of Freiburg (U Freiburg), German Aerospace Center (DLR), Simon Fraser University (SFU) and the U Alberta. The project will focus on leveraging five technologies developed by the applicants to create a proof-of-concept wholly hydrocarbon PEMWE. These are: a) hydrocarbon based membrane expertise from Dr. Holdcroft at SFU and catalyst layer fabrication techniques developed at SFU, U Freiburg and U Alberta; b) novel supported electrocatalysts from DLR; c) graded-electrode enabling inkjet printing and ultrasonic spray electrode fabrication tools at U Alberta, U Freiburg and SFU; d) segmented PEMWE hardware developed at DLR to study local current density and temperature distribution; and, e) the validation and use of micro- and macro-scale numerical simulation tools developed at U Alberta and DLR for discovering the optimal membrane and electrode thickness as well as electrode composition. To date, all research related to the integration of hydrocarbon-based materials to CCMs for PEMWE has been driven by tedious experimental trial-and-error. It is hypothesized that, because of the very different characteristics of these membranes (e.g., higher proton conductivity, reduced gas crossover and increased swelling), a more holistic approach to their analysis and design is required. Taking advantage of novel supported catalyst also requires a more holistic approach to electrode design. This proposal leverages the long history of research activities and investments in state-of-the-art laboratory equipment at these facilities as well as previous collaborations between SFU, UFreiburg, UAlberta and DLR. The international collaboration addresses the challenges of developing suitable materials for PEM electrolyzers.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Canada
• Partner Organisation: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Steven Holdcroft; Professor Dr. Marc Secanell Gallart