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Longer lasting fuel cells from Switzerland

Longer lasting fuel cells from Switzerland

Tokyo (SCCIJ) – An international research team led by the University of Bern has succeeded in optimizing fuel cell-powered vehicles, thus supporting efforts against climate change. The team developed an electro-catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells which is much more stable than catalysts commonly used today.

Longer lasting fuel cells from Switzerland

The new electrocatalyst for hydrogen fuel cells consists of a thin platinum-cobalt alloy network and, unlike the catalysts commonly used today, does not require a carbon carrier (© Gustav Sievers).

Efficiency loss

Fuel cells are gaining in importance as an alternative to battery-operated electro-mobility in heavy traffic, especially since hydrogen is a carbon-neutral energy carrier if it is obtained from renewable sources. In a cell, hydrogen atoms are split to generate electrical power directly from them. The cells need an electro-catalyst that improves the electrochemical reaction in which electricity is generated.

The catalyst in the fuel cell must have a surface with tiny platinum-cobalt particles in the nanometer range, which is applied to a conductive carbon carrier material. Since the small particles and also the carbon in the fuel cell are exposed to corrosion, the cell loses efficiency and stability over time. This affects the service life of the fuel cell and consequently the performance of the vehicle.

Durable catalyst

An international team led by Professor Matthias Arenz from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (DCB) at the University of Bern has now succeeded in using a special process to produce an electro-catalyst without a carbon carrier. Unlike existing catalysts, this catalyst consists of a thin metal network and is, therefore, more durable.

“The catalyst we have developed achieves high performance and promises stable fuel cell operation even at higher temperatures and high current density,” says Arenz. The study is an international collaboration between the DCB and, among others, the University of Copenhagen and the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology, which also used the Swiss Light Source infrastructure at the Paul Scherrer Institute.

Industrially scalable

Previous, similar catalysts without a carrier material always only had a reduced surface area. Since the size of the surface area is crucial for the catalyst’s activity and hence its performance, these were less suitable for industrial use. The researchers were able to turn the idea into reality thanks to a special process called cathode sputtering. With this method, a material is dissolved by bombardment with ions. The released gaseous atoms then condense as an adhesive layer.

“This technology is industrially scalable and can therefore also be used for larger production volumes in the automotive industry,” says Matthias Arenz. The new process allows the further optimization of hydrogen fuel cells for use in road traffic. “Our findings are consequently of importance for the further development of sustainable energy use, especially given the current developments in the mobility sector for heavy goods vehicles,” says Arenz.

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and the Danish National Research Foundation Center for High-Entropy Alloy Catalysis, among others, financed the study.

Text: SCCIJ with material of University of Bern

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