SBIR-STTR Award

Ultrathin Polymer Electrolyte Composites with Exceptional Conductivity, Mechanical Strength and Chemical Durability
Award last edited on: 7/22/2020

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NSF
Total Award Amount
$972,653
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
CT
Principal Investigator
Kristina Hugar

Company Information

Ecolectro Inc

273 Tower Road Weill Hall Suite 413
Ithaca, NY 14850
   (607) 592-5683
   info@ecolectro.com
   www.ecolectro.com/
Location: Single
Congr. District: 23
County: Tompkins

Phase I

Contract Number: 1746486
Start Date: 1/1/2018    Completed: 12/31/2018
Phase I year
2018
Phase I Amount
$225,000
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to produce polymer composites that enable commercialization of alkaline electrochemical devices, such fuel cells and electrolyzers. The use of fuel cell technologies will help preserve the environment, mitigate climate change, decreasing our carbon footprint and securing renewable energy supply. Electrolyzers are an increasingly attractive method of producing ultrapure hydrogen, an essential chemical feedstock and fuel. Currently, widespread adoption of these technologies is prevented by the high system costs, which are driven by the platinum catalysts. Operating under alkaline conditions with alkaline exchange membranes (AEMs) is necessary to relieve this pain point by allowing the use non-precious metal catalysts (e.g. stainless steel, nickel, cobalt, and their alloys). Moreover, AEMs will be less expensive to produce and recyclable at the end of lifetime, unlike the existing polymer electrolytes, further decreasing the cost of devices. Producing commercially viable AEMs enables the widespread deployment of fuel cell and electrolyzer systems by making the technology economically competitive with incumbent fossil fuel based energy sources. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to produce polymer electrolyte composites that meet the stringent performance criteria for a commercially viable AEM, including durability, hydroxide conductivity and mechanical strength under alkaline operating conditions. A proprietary polymer composition with unprecedented chemical stability will be incorporated into microporous polymer structural supports. Typically, cation percentage in AEMs must be kept low, otherwise the membranes swell excessively and deteriorate during operation. Incorporating polymers into structural supports permits increased cation concentration and ion exchange capacity (IEC), resulting in AEMs with high hydroxide conductivity. Furthermore, the mechanical strength of the composite is determined by the support and is not reduced by high IEC, like unsupported membranes. A polymerization method will be employed that allows fine control over cation concentration and the reaction can be conducted inside the support, simplifying composite fabrication. The combination of our unique polymer composition and a structural support that maximizes conductivity without losing mechanical strength, is a crucial milestone for the commercialization of our technology.

Phase II

Contract Number: 1951215
Start Date: 5/1/2020    Completed: 4/30/2022
Phase II year
2020
Phase II Amount
$747,653
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to develop a new class of reinforced polymers that advance renewable hydrogen and clean energy devices, such as electrolyzers and fuel cells. The proposed materials will address the high materials costs, toxicity, and modest performance of current state-of-practice solutions. The support and fabrication innovations enhance mechanical performance and durability and reduce materials costs by engineering specifically for the intended applications. The proposed device will generate capital expenditure reductions of 40% and improve durability by 3x. This SBIR Phase II project will address performance, durability and scale issues of reinforced Alkaline Exchange Membranes (rAEMs). The project will advance the development of rAEMs with high mechanical performance and durability; the project will develop mesoporous supports to achieve higher quality. Proposed chemical innovations will improve electrochemical performance by boosting ion mobility and exploiting hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase separation dynamics in the polymer electrolyte. The project will advance innovations of Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEA) with non-platinum catalysts to further reduce device cost. Technical goals include performance and durability of the rAEM (stability for 1,000h, ASR < 0.08 Ohm-cm2, hydroxide conductivity > 25 mS/cm, Stress @ break > 30 MPa, < 15% swelling), MEAs in fuel cells (current density > 800 mA/cm2 at 0.65V @ 60 degrees C over 50h) MEAs in electrolyzers (current density > 750 mA/cm2 at 1.8V @ 60 degrees C over 100h), and successful incorporation of non-platinum electrodes into MEAs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.