This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating ball milling technology to produce low-cost, metal-free, carbon-based electrocatalysts as replacements for expensive platinum catalysts for commercial fuel cells. The translated catalytic technology has the following unique features: low-cost, scalable and eco-friendly processing, high catalytic activity, and MeOH-effect/Co-poisoning free that provides exemplary high performance and significant cost saving when compared to the leading competing platinum and related noble metal catalysts in this market space. The project accomplishes its objectives by developing a scalable ball milling process to produce functional graphene materials as metal-free catalyst/electrodes for oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells, resulting in a fuel cell prototype.
The potential economic impact is expected to be highly-efficient fuel cells for transportation and stationary applications in the next five years, which will contribute to the U.S. competitiveness in the fuel cell market. The societal impact, long term, will be the training of the next generation researchers and engineers, reducing our national reliance on foreign petroleum, and reduction of greenhouse gas emission and environment pollution.
