Overview
CRESCENDO will develop highly active and long-term stable electrocatalysts of non-platinum group metal (non-PGM) catalysts for the PEMFC cathode using a range of complementary and convergent approaches, and will re-design the cathode catalyst layer so as to reach the project target power density and durability requirements of 0.42 W/cm2 at 0.7 V, and 1000 h with less than 30% performance loss at 1.5 A/cm2 after 1000 h under the FC-DLC, initially in small and ultimately full-size single cells tested in an industrial environment on an industrially scaled-up catalyst.
The proposal includes the goal of developing non-PGM or ultra-low PGM anode catalysts with greater tolerance to impurities than current low Pt-loaded anodes. It will develop and apply advanced diagnostics methods and tests, and characterisation tools for determination of active site density and to better understand performance degradation and mass transport losses.
The proposal builds on previous achievements in non-PGM catalyst development within all of the university and research organisation project partners. It benefits from the unrivalled know-how in catalyst layer development at JMFC and the overarching expertise at BMW in cell and stack testing, and in guiding the materials development to align with systems requirements.
Funding
Results
CRESCENDO aims to develop highly active, stable and durable electrocatalysts using non-platinum group metals (non-PGM) for the PEMFC cathode and includes the re-design of the cathode catalyst layer, with a project target power density of 0.42 W/cm2 at 0.7 V in single cells. CRESCENDO also has the objective to develop non-PGM or ultra-low PGM anode catalysts with greater tolerance to CO and H2S than current low loading Pt anodes. The development of innovative PEMFC materials having significantly lower platinum contents will avoid dependency on the supply of critical raw materials, consolidate Europe's competitive position, and reduce market pressure on the use of scarce noble metals. Provided that the non-PGM based MEAs are able to provide the high power density at high current density required by FCEVs, the resulting cost savings will be game-changing.