Fuel cell catalysts

Common battery technologies can no longer follow the development of new advanced consumer electronics that are putting greater demands on the energy system's capacity and handling. At the Danish Technological Institute, we are working on the development of advanced energy systems, which includes research on new catalysts for the production of electricity from methanol and hydrogen fuel cells.

To reduce the use of expensive precious metals within fuel cells, high surface area carbon nanoparticles are used as support for very small platinum-based catalyst particles. In addition, alloys, intermetallic or more complex structures such as core-shell particles have proved effective for the enhancement of the electrocatalytic activity of platinum. At DTI, we have developed platinum catalysts on various carbon supports with excellent activities that exceed that of commercial catalysts, due to our high control of process parameters, and thus high accuracy of the size of the synthesized particles.

If you are missing the right catalyst for your fuel cells, we can develop and validate new catalysts for your purpose. We optimize everything from support material, functionalization, metal:carbon ratio, metal composition, structure and particle size.
 

We work with:

• Various carbon support particles, including carbon black, carbon nanotubes and graphene
• Pt and PtRu catalysts on carbon support with state-of-the-art electrochemical surface area and activity
• Metal alloys such as PtCo and PtNi nanocatalysts for ORR with state-of-the-art catalytic activity

Advantages of our production method for fuel cell catalysts:

• High control of size, composition and distribution of metal nanoparticles on carbon support
• Minimal size distribution and high particle crystallinity of the catalytic metal nanoparticles
• Platinum metal alloying as eg. core-shell structures, such as PtCo and PtNi

Experts in methanol-based fuel cells
With our unique skills in micro and nanotechnology, we have achieved outstanding results with especially methanol-based fuel cells. In 2016 we launched the world's first fuel cell-powered hearing aid, using methanol. We are also involved in the development of fuel cells for future civilian drones with up to ten times longer flight times than now.

Cooperate with us
If you are in need of state-of-the-art fuel cell catalysts, we are ready to help. For example, you can collaborate with us in a development project.

Contact Team Manager Christoffer Mølleskov if you want to know more about nanocatalysts and their applications, tel.: +45 7220 1055 and email: chm@dti.dk

Development projects can be financed through Innovation Fund Denmark or the Horizon2020 program.

We believe that the best solutions are created in cooperation with companies. Therefore, we would like to assist you in applying for funding for the development project.