Articles

The energy sector is currently experiencing a continuous and unprecedented growth. Driven by demand for cleaner, more sustainable, and efficient solutions, it has produced a critical need for the development of new materials and innovative processes. From advanced fuel cells for new-generation vehicles to highly energy-efficient magnetic devices and beyond, materials science took the central role in shaping the future of the energy landscape.    One of the fundamental challenges lying between the innovative ideas of better materials and their integration in real-world applications is a transition from laboratory-scale synthesis to industrial-scale production. While the laboratory serves as a cradle of innovation, enabling researchers to explore novel materials and processes, it operates within controlled environments, often producing small quantities for experimental purposes. Industrial-scale production, on the other hand, demands a leap from grams to tons and even megatons. This transition in scale not only strains the resources but can also impact the...

Materials and their environmental impact are paramount for addressing sustainability challenges and ensuring the safety of both the environment and society.   Despite the urgent need to address end-of-life practices, material supply risks to ensure sustainable resource availability, the assessment of these requirements is a multifaceted and complex challenge. It requires comprehensive data on materials' environmental performance, manufacturing processes, safety considerations, and their implications for the circular economy. Integrating material intelligence into decision support tools assists in considering not only environmental factors and safety attributes but also their role in fostering a circular and sustainable economy.   Traditionally, information for material selection has been provided by physical characterization approaches. However, more and more organizations are looking at integrating computational models and physical experiment to drastically accelerate the material characterization, design and optimization in terms of performance; nevertheless this comes with additional complexity and challenges which will need to be tackled.   All the involved actors in...

Advent Technologies SA is an advanced materials and systems development company operating in the competitive fuel cell and hydrogen technology sectors. Advent specializes in the development, manufacturing, and assembly of complete fuel cell systems and critical components that determine the performance of multi-fuel cells and other energy systems such as water electrolyzers.    Advent’s recently reported Ion-Pair Technology (or protonated HT-PEM) uses a superior PEM with a phosphonated functionalized ionomer binder for HT-PEMFCs based on a phosphoric acid (PA) imbibed polycation. This technology improves fuel cell performance at a wider temperature and humidity range and is already proven at lower-mid TRL levels. Moreover, this technology mitigates phosphoric acid evaporation and leaching through stronger electrostatic interaction of the PA with the inherent polymer functionality. The proof of concept of the ion-pair technology is already developed by Advent and provides excellent results.   Pt is the state-of-the-art electrocatalyst for HER in PEM-WE and PEM-FC followed by...