Development of Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cells for Applications in UUVs and other Platforms Relevant to U.S. Navy
Abstract
We propose the development, scaling and testing of highly efficient and highly durable unitized regenerative fuel cells (URFC). Both fixed-polarity and fixed-gas URFCs will be explored. Bifunctional electrocatalysts and supports will be developed, coupled with stabilization of the porous-transport layer and membrane optimization, which are both critical in determining the round-trip efficiency and sustained performance of URFCs. We will develop electrocatalysts for both proton-exchange membrane (PEM)-URFCs and anion-exchange membrane (AEM)-URFCs. Our research in this project will focus on understanding the fundamentals of bifunctional electrocatalyticproperties and improving the bifunctional performance of the electrocatalysts based on that. We will use X-ray based techniques (e.g., XRD, XPS) to characterize the electrocatalyst and then will correlate their material properties with the electrochemical activities to design better electrocatalysts. We will use density functional theory(DFT)-based calculations to reduce the screening time ofprospective electrocatalysts. We will also verify the viability of bipolar-interface URFCs by leveraging the learnings from our prior ONR-funded work on such interfaces. Upon demonstration in a single unitized cell scaling from 5 # 25cm2 active area (project scope), we will build and demonstrate a URFC short stack based on 50cm2 or larger active area cells with the best configuration and demonstrate cycling for > 100 cycles with minimal loss of performance.Approved for public release.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 12, 2023
- Source ID
- N000142312201
Entities
People
- Vijay Ramani
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Washington University in St. Louis