Fuel cell technologies suffer from key cost, efficiency and degradation issues that must be resolved before they can reach their full commercial potential. Unfortunately many of the limitations of current polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technologies are introduced, or exacerbated, by the current design of their membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). Homogeneously constructed MEAs (i.e. the industrially standard) suffer from heterogeneity in the distribution of current, pressure, reactant concentration, water distribution and temperature, leading to numerous unintended gradients across the fuel cell which act to heterogeneously utilise, and therefore degrade, catalysts, their supports and ion conducting membranes. In HETEROMEA, we will characterise and understand the impact of intrinsic heterogeneity on MEA performance and durability. This understanding will be used to inform the design and implementation of material heterogeneously within next-generation MEAs, to 'smooth out' inefficient gradients and produce a homogeneous distribution of current, water, reactant partial pressure in operational PEMFCs; i.e. we will produce MEAs where the constituents (including e.g. Pt, ionomer, porosity, membrane) are intelligently distributed inhomogeneously, mitigating performance and durability losses. This will be enabled via the utilisation of robotic ultrasonic spray printing, a tool that allows flexible but precise control over material loading and distribution. HETEROMEA will therefore deliver a significant improvement in catalyst utilisation, mass transport resistance, charge transfer resistance and flooding, while using a standard range of industry-relevant fuel cell materials (e.g. commercial catalysts).

Modern vehicles fuel economy has been improved since 2010 by approximately 20% and this has been achieved through engineering advances that have led to engine efficiency improvements, reduction in vehicle mass, introduction of hybrids. Vehicle manufacturers have managed to meet the mandatory 2015 CO2 levels, however according to their current announcements they are all still away by 30% to 15% from the 2020/21 target of 95 g/km. Achieving the necessary additional fuel economy improvement for 2020 and beyond requires the introduction of other unconventional technological approaches. Despite substantial improvements in the emissions control technologies for road transport, which have been resulted in improved air quality over the past decade, there are still significant air quality problems throughout the UK and the EU, especially in urban and densely populated areas Exhaust gas fuel reforming is a technique that utilises the engine exhaust heat, H2O, CO2 and fresh fuel to produce H2 rich gas through the promotion of primarily endodermic reactions Fuel reforming for IC engine technologies has been discussed for years but has never been implemented. The combination of present challenges in the emission reduction requirements in road transport and the improved fuels quality in recent years provides a unique opportunity for a successful fuel reforming process to be utilized in the global aftertreatment market. In the "first stage" (WP1) the fuel reformer will be designed and integrated within the engine exhaust to provide small reformate/H2 concentrations to the aftertreatment system when required. In the "second stage" (WP2) the fuel reforming catalyst will be amalgamated within the aftertreatment, into one novel compact integrated catalyst brick, designed using additive manufacturing techniques, to improve further response time to engine changes and emission and simplify its operation, costs, complexity and control. In addition to emission benefits, fuel economy improvements (taking into account the small quantity of fuel in the reformer to generate the required ppm of H2) in GDI and Diesel engine, though combinations of more efficient engine calibration, reduced pumping losses and the absence of disruptive aftertreatment control strategies (i.e. aftertreatment systems activity and regeneration achieved through the substantial use of fuel).

Fuel cells have been promoted as a pollution free alternative for energy generation. However, there are several constraints, based around the materials used, which have limited the implementation of this technology. This proposal provides the understanding of the chemical processes occurring in the materials and at the interfaces between the materials which drive the technology and the changes this chemistry causes to the materials. This will enable the design of fuel cell systems and choice of materials to mitigate these changes which reduce performance. The electro-chemical processes which occur in fuel cells (both high and low temperature systems) are not unique to this technology and to demonstrate the efficacy of the study across all temperature ranges (from room temperature to 1200oC) we will also look at the separation of CO2 using dual phase membranes. While still an emerging technology, these membranes encounter similar problems to fuel cells and are extremely exciting as potential short term solutions for existing energy generation systems where CO2 is generated. Several extremely powerful, cutting edge, analytical techniques are available which when applied in real time will allow the observation of the chemistry at atomic level. As a consequence the changes caused by operation of the system can be identified and explained. This project couples the application of existing state-of-the-art techniques with the development of these techniques where necessary to allow researchers to follow the changes as the chemical transformation of fuels into power, or CO2 separation, occur. The potential benefit of this work is that the route to market for all three technologies will be enhanced by a deeper understanding of the chemistry. Hence, the environmental potential of the adoption of these systems will be realised. In addition, the ability to follow processes within working systems will be of great interest to the scientific community working in parallel disciplines such as the design of barriers to prevent corrosion.

With more than 300 papers published on the topic, the Condensed Matter group in Leeds is well known for its work on spintronics - a subject defined by the exploitation of the magnetic moment of electrons instead of charge. Recently the group has appointed two new members of staff bringing us expertise in organic spintronics (Cespedes) and nanomagnetism (Moore). Thus we are one of the first groups to develop high frequency equipment for molecular spintronics in order to research eco-friendly microwave devices. We are also exploring ways of switching magnetisation using the strain developed by an electric field - important for future storage applications. Although we have links among all members of the group, this Platform provides an excellent opportunity to take a strategic look at our activity. Our broad research strategy will concern the general theme of spintronic metamaterials. Metamaterials are artificial in that the functional properties are not a feature of the natural occurring materials that form the building blocks, but emerge through design and engineering of material combinations. The artificial aspect is often introduced through nanostructuring. An early example arises in optics where sub-wavelength features give rise to new properties such as photonic band-gap crystals. Magnetic metamaterials were at the dawn of spintronics - a multilayer composed of alternating magnetic and non-magnetic metals displays giant magnetoresistance. These properties have been exploited to great advantage in computing and communication. We aim to move from common magnetoresistive devices and spin transport physics into microwave nanodevices that manipulate the interactions between electrons with phonons, magnons and other quasiparticles in hybrid structures. Building on our recognised strengths of thin film growth, characterisation and magnetotransport we are proposing a programme of engineering materials in combinations that yield fruitful emergent properties - spintronic metamaterials. Our group has a broad background that includes the ability to structure materials at the nanoscale so that cooperative behaviour arises, e.g. combining superconductors with skyrmion spin textures, or injecting pure spin currents from magnets into organics. We will apply this capability to questions in areas identified as strategic such as quantum effects for new technology, beyond CMOS electronics, energy efficient electronics and new tools for healthcare. We shall pursue this in a way that is very different from a traditional responsive-mode research project. We have identified areas that are scientifically and nationally important and where we can make impact in both academic and technological settings. We will not specify exactly which experiments will be performed, only the type of experiment that is possible. We will use the flexibility of platform funding to develop the independence of researchers beyond that achievable in a normal grant. As an example, there is a controversy at present about the role of heat and magnetic proximity effects in spin currents and their possibilities in non-dissipative, low power consumption electronics. With platform funding we can send a researcher to visit the relevant labs and attend the workshops who would then be in a good position to recommend the best course of action. The researcher would lead those experiments with full support for necessary resources - including and encouraging, if appropriate, the contribution of PhD students and other PDRAs. This general approach can be applied across our whole platform programme to any emerging problems in the field. This is career-enhancing because researchers, at this stage of their research, can usually only gain this level of autonomy if they are independent Research Fellows. This background will fast track them for Research Fellowships or good positions in industry or top level institutions looking for individuals with initiative and vision.

Silicon Photonics, the technology of electronic-photonic circuits on silicon chips, is transforming communications technology, particularly data centre communications, and bringing photonics to mass markets, utilising technology in the wavelength range 1.2 micrometres - 1.6 micrometres. Our vision is to extend the technical capability of Silicon Photonics to Mid -Infrared (MIR) wavelengths (3-15 micrometres), to bring the benefits of low cost manufacturing, technology miniaturisation and integration to a plethora of new applications, transforming the daily lives of mass populations. To do this we propose to develop low-cost, high performance, silicon photonics chip-scale sensors operating in the MIR wavelength region. This will change the way that healthcare, and environmental monitoring are managed. The main appeal of the MIR is that it contains strong absorption fingerprints for multiple molecules and substances that enable sensitive and specific detection (e.g. CO2, CH4, H2S, alcohols, proteins, lipids, explosives etc.) and therefore MIR sensors can address challenges in healthcare (e.g. cancer, poisoning, infections), and environmental monitoring (trace gas analysis, climate induced changes, water pollution), as well as other applications such as industrial process control (emission of greenhouse gases), security (detection of explosives and drugs at airports and train stations), or food quality (oils, fruit storage), to name but a few. However, MIR devices are currently realised in bulk optics and integrated MIR photonics is in its infancy, and many MIR components and circuits have either not yet been developed or their performance is inferior to their visible/near-IR counterparts. Research leaders from the Universities of Southampton, Sheffield and York, the University Hospital Southampton and the National Oceanography Centre will utilise their world leading expertise in photonics, electronics, sensing and packaging to unleash the full potential of integrated MIR photonics. We will realise low cost, mass manufacturable devices and circuits for biomedical and environmental sensing, and subsequently improve performance by on-chip integration with sources, detectors, microfluidic channels, and readout circuits and build demonstrators to highlight the versatility of the technology in important application areas. We will initially focus on the following applications, which have been chosen by consulting end users of the technology (the NHS and our industrial partners): 1) Therapeutic drug monitoring (e.g. vancomycin, rifampicin and phenytoin); 2) Liquid biopsy (rapid cancer diagnostics from blood samples); 3) Ocean monitoring (CO2, CH4, N2O detection).