A group of researchers, along with Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Helmholtz-Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Instituto Superior Técnico – University of Lisbon, AGH University of Science and Technology, with funding from Heinrich Böll Foundation recently published research on Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (AEMFCs) and the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) when Fe-N-C based catalysts are used:

Konrad Ehelebe, Talal Ashraf, Simon Hager, Dominik Seeberger, Simon Thiele, Serhiy Cherevko “Fuel Cell Catalyst Layer Evaluation Using a Gas Diffusion Electrode Half-Cell: Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Fe-N-C in Alkaline Media” Electrochemistry Communications 116 (2020) 106761.

Dr Alexey Serov stated, “This high quality research article from Dr. Cherevko’s group clearly demonstrates that using new generations of commercial Anion Exchange Membranes and well-defined activation protocols Pajarito Powder’s state-of-the-art PGM-free PMF catalysts can achieve spectacular performance, and what is critical -extremely high durability. This proves the Pajarito Powder line of Precious-Metal-Free^TM (PMF) catalysts can be used not only in acidic conditions of PEMFC (work supported by DOE EERE DE-EE0008419, Project ID #305), but in a new, promising field of AEMFC.”

The catalyst used in the study is the commercially available PGM-free PMF-011904. PMF-011904 and the ionomer were placed on a gas diffusion electrode (GDE) half-cell and underwent electrochemical analyses. It was shown that, even after 5,000 cycles, PMF-011904 was stable and there were no observable signs of performance deterioration. With these results, AEMFC coupled with PGM-free catalysts appear to be promising technology that can match PEMFC performance, but the PGM-free catalysts still need to be optimized. Researchers are hopeful that such optimizations will be completed in the near future due to the extensive research that went into PEMFC.

Pajarito Powder, LLC is a domestic venture-backed startup, funded by the Verge Fund, Omphalos Venture Partners and other investors, focused on developing next-generation catalysts and catalyst supports for the fuel cell and electrolyzer industries. Working with automotive OEMs, fuel cell component companies and major electrolyzer manufacturers, Pajarito Powder is an established leader in advanced catalyst and catalyst support development in rapidly accelerating clean/green hydrogen energy industries.

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