The goal of this Korea-UK research initiative is to address Research theme 1 (Innovative concepts from Electrodes to stack) of the EPSRC-KETEP Call for Collaborative Research with Korea on Fuel Cell Technologies. The proposal also covers some aspects of Research theme 2 (Predictive control for performance and degradation mitigation). Hence, this research is associated with improving the lifetime and performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Within this project we will develop new corrosion resistant catalyst supports and catalyse those supports utilising a new catalysis technique. We will also examine the development of porous bipolar plates and see how we can integrate those bipolar plates and catalysts within a fuel cell. We will trial the materials in test stacks and look at the performance and longevity of these new materials. Parallel to this work, we will use state of the art x-ray tomography and other imaging techniques to assess the performance of the materials under real operating conditions. Information from these tests will allow us to develop a methodological framework to simulate the performance of the fuel cells. This framework will then be used to build more efficient control strategies for our higher performance fuel cell systems. We will also build a strong and long-lasting collaborative framework between Korea and the UK for both academic research and commercial trade. The project will benefit from the complementary strengths of the Korean and UK PEFC programmes, and represents a significant international activity in fuel cell research that includes a focus on the challenging issues of cost reduction and performance enhancement. The project will have particularly high impact and added value due to a strong personnel exchange programme with researchers spending several months in each other's labs; highly relevant industrial collaboration; and links with the H2FC Supergen. We have strong support from industrial companies in both the UK and Korea who will support our goals of developing new catalysts for fuel cells (Amalyst - UK, and RTX Corporation - Korea), new corrosion resistant porous bipolar plates (NPL-UK; Hyundai Hysco and Hankook tire (Korea)), and fuel cell and system integrators (Arcola Energy and Intelligent Energy (UK)).

Summary The primary aim of this project is to produce new, sustainable oxidation catalysts that allow the creation of efficient wireless, photodiode, solar to chemical energy conversion devices for the splitting of brine/seawater. In brine, H2, alkali and Cl2 (or H2 and sodium hypochlorite, NaOCl will be the (separated) products. Hydrogen will be stored to provide heat at a later date (by burning) or used to produce electricity (via an H2/O2 fuel cell). The oxidised chloride will be stored either as Cl2, or hypochlorite, to provide a route to chlorinate water, or provide a disinfectant. The programme will produce inexpensive demonstrators which can be readily scaled up for use in the household - i.e. on a 'personalised' energy and disinfectant scale. Such systems are particularly suited for use in the developing countries, although the subsequent development of substantially scaled up systems - involving solar farms - will allow the production of these valuable, storable, chemical products at a level suitable for widespread use by a town and/or local industry. The latter scaled up systems will form the basis of a subsequent, second follow on stage, industry led, developmental program of work, whereas the first stage project described here will focus on the proof of concept and initial creation of scalable demonstrators. The proposed novel ClOCs developed in the project will utilise inexpensive, abundant nanomaterials (such as: oxides of Mn, Ni or Co), although, in some cases, these will be doped with well-dispersed, much more active, but less abundant ones, such as Ru dioxide. These nanomaterials will also be coated onto high surface area conducting carbons, which will allow them to be partly supported and active. A novel, combinatorial approach, using High-throughput Continuous Hydrothermal flow synthesis, HiTCH and, to a lesser extent, other - electrochemical and photochemical synthetic methods, will be used to produce a wide range of oxidation catalysts. Novel, colour-based rapid screening methods will be used to provide initial assessments of their activities and a wide range of techniques will be used to assess their physical properties. The best of the catalysts generated will be optimised in terms of performance as electrocatalysts and subjected to more detailed electro-kinetic and structural studies (e.g. XANES and XAFS) and subsequent mechanistic and structural modelling. This work will help identify key structural features associated with the most active of the electrocatalysts tested and inform on the best routes to be taken in the subsequent synthesis of related materials as oxidation catalysts of possible greater potential. Finally, the best of all the electrocatalysts tested will be used to create simple, exemplar, scalable working wireless photodiode solar energy conversion devices, which utilise inexpensive, efficient, triple-junction Si photovoltaic cells as the light-absorbing unit, for the photocleavage of water or brine (including seawater).

We propose to develop a radically new system for low-temperature hydrogen fuel cells that promises a performance that can match proton-exchange membrane fuel cells but costs less and is more robust. Our system involves two new technologies, which we ourselves have developed: alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells (that contain alkaline anion-exchange polymer electrolytes materials that conduct hydroxide anions, and use low to zero levels of precious metal catalysts) coupled with a new effective method of hydrogen delivery based on ammonia. Our ammonia will be sourced from a low-carbon grid-balancing project that is led by Siemens AG, funded by the TSB and based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The ability of ammonia to fulfil both the role of energy buffer and energy vector (that closely mimics fossil fuel hydrocarbons such as propane and butane) indicates its potential to play a central part in a future low-carbon economy. The proposed hydrogen store is liquid ammonia, stored at modest pressures (10 - 20 atmospheres), which is cracked at moderate temperatures (350 - 500 degC) using a novel chemical reaction mechanism that does not involve rare-metal catalysts. Our recently discovered, inexpensive approach to ammonia decomposition involves the concurrent stoichiometric decomposition and regeneration of sodium amide via sodium: it is anticipated to lead to less than a 10% loss of efficiency. In the past decade, there has been an increased level of research into using hydroxide conducting alkaline anion-exchange polymer electrolytes in all-solid-state alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells. A major rationale for this is such fuel cells hold the most promise for the elimination of precious metal catalysts. Additionally, low temperature (acidic) proton-exchange membrane fuel cells are irreversibly damaged by < ppm amounts of ammonia. Alkaline fuel cells, on the other hand, can tolerate several % of ammonia in the hydrogen fuel without serious performances or durability losses. Alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells have even been operated with pure ammonia as the fuel. The actively managed project (that will fully integrate into the UK's SuperGen Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Hub) will involve the development of novel amide and imide based systems for ammonia decomposition as well as the next generation of conductive and durable anion-exchange polymer electrolytes and low cost catalysts (in close partnership with Amalyst Ltd.) to produce alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells with improved performances over the current state-of-art. The polymer electrolyte development will include novel dual role alkaline ionomers that allows conduction of the hydroxide anions in the catalyst layers and also catalyses the decomposition of trace ammonia (to help ensure zero ammonia emissions from the fuel cell). Anode catalysts that can not only oxidise hydrogen in the presence of ammonia, but oxidise the ammonia itself (again to help eliminate ammonia emissions) will be specifically targeted. Non-precious-metal cathode catalysts will be used and ported from current and prior research programmes. The culmination of the project will be the development of a combined system incorporating the ammonia cracker, an alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cell incorporating developed technologies, balance-of-plant, and a control and monitoring system. Taking the systems approach beyond the test bed, a study will be performed that delivers flowsheet and device designs for a 5 kWe system to be taken forward via future projects in direct collaboration with industry.