The technical objective of the KDFuelCell project is to develop and study key materials for high temperature PEM fuel cells, i.e. ion conducting membranes and electrochemical catalysts. The focus is on durability and the potential for cost reduction. Besides technical issues, societal issues are also addressed.
The scientific objective of the project is to develop improved membrane and catalyst materials for high temperature PEM fuel cells (HT-PEMFC). This type of fuel cell is an active field of research in both Korea and Denmark on all levels and a number of commercial enterprises in both countries are in the process of bringing it to market. The advantage of the HT-PEMFC is its suitability for operation on a variety of fuels via a simplified reformer system. Today the main technical challenges are durability and cost. Improved performance is also desired, and all these properties are to a large extent related to the membrane and the catalysts.
The project will develop ion conducting membranes with higher strength and stability for dynamic and long term operation. The work will be based on the experiences in both Denmark and Korea with modified polymers, composites and different post treatments. The work on catalysts will involve platinum alloying for increased activity and stability. Moreover, surface modifications by selective adsorption will be studied for the mitigation of the inhibitive phosphate adsorption which is known to hamper the catalytic activity towards especially the oxygen reduction reaction. Two PhD projects will be carried out in Denmark, part of which will be externships with the Korean partners. Korean students are likewise expected in Denmark. Finally, a joint open symposium will be arranged.
Besides the technical research cultural studies of the cooperation between the research groups and enterprises from Korea and Denmark will be conducted and a number of workshops addressing the cultural dissimilarities will be held.