The Need for High Performance and Cost Efficiency in Fuel Cells is Opening up Growth Opportunities in the Materials Space.
As the transition to a green economy becomes inevitable (it is economical and environment friendly), researchers will concentrate on the promotion, development, and adoption of green energy technologies. Among these sustainable technologies, fuel cells, which offer the potential to generate electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen electrochemically, demonstrate advantages such as high efficiency, low operating temperature, high power density, and low emission. In addition, fuel cells are considered potential candidates to mitigate CO2 emissions from fossil fuels by reducing dependency on fossil fuels and offering a better alternative - hydrogen, which can be produced through sustainable methods and promises to deliver decentralized and stabilized power plants.
However, concerns in terms of the high cost associated with these devices due to the use of noble metals such as platinum and palladium in the fabrication of different components of fuel cells and issues regarding the durability of these noble materials in acidic and basic environments are key challenges hindering the large-scale commercial growth of these electrochemical devices. As a result, researchers are focusing on innovating and developing new materials that can attenuate these techno-economic challenges and aid the growth of fuel cells.
This study focuses on identifying and analyzing innovation in the material science of various components such as cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, and catalysts of fuel cells. The materials captured are compared across 4 key technical parameters, that is, particle size (nm), electrical conductivity (S.cm-1), thermal expansion coefficient (K-1), and specific surface area (m2/g). The primary focus of the research is trying to find the most promising material for the fabrication of key components in fuel cells that can enable the commercial-scale production of these electrochemical devices.
The publisher has identified 6 key material technologies that will enable a cost-effective approach to fuel cell manufacturing; they are ceramics, composites, metal-based (metals and alloys), nanoparticles, polymers, and others (a supported form of metals on carbonaceous materials/polymers). At present, researchers are focused on nanoparticles due to their efficient application across all fuel cells, either as a based or a doped material. Nanostructures allow these materials to offer greater surface area, smaller particle size, and better porosity. The rising adoption of these materials in fuel cell fabrication will enable fuel cell manufacturers to set up economies of scale at the start of the commercialization phase and resolve major challenges such as high costs and unreliability for the wider application of fuel cell technologies.
