Sustainable, Low-cost and Durable Polymers for Green Hydrogen Conversion Technologies

Project Description

Green hydrogen will play a crucial role in decarburisation. It can be generated from water using renewable energy in an electrolyser or used to generate electricity from a fuel cell. However, the high capital cost of electrochemical devices is a roadblock to mass commercialisation. A major factor in the cost is the electrolyte, conventionally an expensive sulfonated fluoropolymer. Fluoropolymers are also associated with ecologically damaging “forever chemicals” which are facing increasing scrutiny.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a biodegradable and cheap polymer. As proof-of-concept, the partners at Kyushu University (Japan) have shown that the PVA based membranes: have low gas permeability; have sufficient ionic conductivity for power generation in fuel cells when chemically modified with sulfonic acid groups; and feature high durability through cross-linking.

As an extension to the above work, PVA will be investigated as an alternative electrolyte material for fuel cells and electrolysers. The Japanese partners will perform chemical modification, crosslinking, and characterisation of PVA materials to optimise electrolytic performance. Both the Japanese and UK teams will incorporate the resulting PVA membranes into electrolysers and fuel cells to evaluate their performance and durability under different conditions. Meanwhile, the UK team will use the generated data to perform simulations of PVA membranes through multiphysics modelling, predicting how they will perform in electrochemical systems under a wide variety of conditions. The computational data will be simultaneously used to inform the experimental part of the project to shorten the design cycle and save materials and time.

The outcome of this collaborative research will be: an improved understanding of the behavior of PVA based membranes in electrochemical systems; the development of a new class of low cost and more sustainable electrolytes for green hydrogen applications; and the establishment of a research network between the UK and Japan for sharing expertise and know-how in the highly strategic research discipline of green hydrogen generation and utilisation.