Fuel Cells- Powering a Greener Future

Completed

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells(Fuel Cells)

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Chemistry)
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Metallurgy and Materials)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Chemical Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Professor K Scott
School of Chemical Engineering & Advanced Materials
Newcastle University

Standard

EPSRC

01 September 2005

31 December 2009

52 months

£2,082,524

Energy

North East

Infrastructure and Environment -- Process Environment and Sustainability

Professor K Scott, School of Chemical Engineering & Advanced Materials, Newcastle University

Professor A Atkinson, Materials, Imperial College London
Dr RT Baker, Chemistry, University of St Andrews
Professor NP Brandon, Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London
Professor K. L. Choy, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham
Professor J Irvine, Chemistry, University of St Andrews

Project Contact, Rolls-Royce PLC
Project Contact, Johnson Matthey Plc
Project Contact, Ceres Power Limited

Fuel Cells are receiving considerable attention as clean, highly efficient devices for the production of both electricity and, for some applications, high grade waste heat, with the recent DTI study 'A fuel cell vision for the UK (2003)' predicting 5 million fuel cell vehicles and 10 GW of residential and commercial generation by 2020. However, considerable technical challenges remain for this promise to be realised. Specifically, advances are needed in the areas of as-manufactured fuel cell integrity, particularly with regards to the thick film ceramic electrolytes adopted in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, in fuel cell durability, in fuel cell power density, and in fuel flexibility, whether this be the ability to use renewable fuels such as bio-alcohols, or the ability to use logisticfuels such as diesel or kerosene. Furthermore, all of these issues need to be addressed in the context of the ultimate capital and operating cost of the fuel cell.This proposal brings together a world-class team of both academic and industrial partners to address these key issues. We will focus our efforts onto the three leading technologies being developed by our industrial collaborators, namely high temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (HT-PEMFCs), high temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (HT-SOFCs) for SOFC-gas turbine hybrid applications, and metal supported intermediate temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (IT-SOFCs) for operation at 500-600C. Uniquely, our approach will be to seek synergies in our work into these three technologies whenever possible. (Note : This is a"Supergen" project)

01/01/07