2019 – Fuel Cell R&D Summary of Annual Merit Review of the Fuel
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FUEL CELL R&D 2019 – Fuel Cell R&D Summary of Annual Merit Review of the Fuel Cell R&D Subprogram The Fuel Cell R&D subprogram includes a diverse portfolio of fuel cell technologies to enable low-cost, durable, and high-performance fuel cells for a range of applications. Early-stage research and development (R&D) areas in fiscal year (FY) 2019 include catalysts and electrodes, membranes, fuel cell performance and durability, and assessments. Catalyst and electrode R&D comprises efforts on development and utilization of low-platinum-group- metal (low-PGM) and PGM-free catalysts, with the latter being the focus of work by ElectroCat (the Electrocatalysis Consortium). Membrane R&D includes polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs), as well as alkaline membranes. Fuel cell performance and durability is the purview of the Fuel Cell Performance and Durability Consortium (FC-PAD). The Fuel Cell R&D subprogram has a portfolio that includes work on medium- and heavy-duty fuel cell applications. The subprogram also includes fuel cell system modeling and analysis, as well as efforts to develop components for unitized reversible fuel cells. Summary of Fuel Cell R&D Subprogram and Reviewer Comments The Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program (the Program) reviewers noted that the Fuel Cell R&D subprogram has a comprehensive, well-structured, and focused project portfolio, with elaborated metrics and milestones, focused on low-technology-readiness-level (low-TRL) research with long-term impacts. The reviewers agreed that the general focus of the various initiatives are in line with the fuel cell industry’s long-term needs and that early-stage R&D addresses the primary issues and opportunities. Program reviewers also specifically noted that the consortia approaches with ElectroCat and FC-PAD are well organized to reach the Program’s goals and are providing opportunities for more efficient utilization of cross-laboratory capabilities. Furthermore, reviewers agreed that consortia should continue to focus on materials properties work in regard to fuel cell catalysts and fuel cell durability, both of which were repeatedly highlighted. ElectroCat was specifically noted as showing excellent progress in PGM-free catalyst development and performance in MEAs, while working on understanding and mitigating durability issues. Reviewers highlighted the increased emphasis on technology reliability and cycle life as positive. The subprogram was encouraged to continue to support and develop stronger links between the consortia and industry. Reviewers remarked that the consortia- and funding-opportunity-announcement-directed approach to funding will yield highly focused projects. Reviewers stressed the importance of cost reduction in fuel cells, especially in medium- and heavy-duty fuel cell applications. There was agreement that the increased focus on medium- and heavy-duty applications is a strength of the subprogram and will be critically important in advancing adoption in these sectors of industry; the Program was encouraged to continue focusing on these applications. Project reviewers were also impressed with specific project-level highlights and accomplishments, as detailed in the project review reports that follow this introductory summary. Certain individual projects were judged to have unclear or insufficiently defined pathways for hitting their targets and goals within the subprogram and, therefore, to require additional focus. Forty-eight projects were reviewed, receiving scores ranging from 2.5 to 3.5, with an average score of 3.17. Each of the individual project reports in this section contains a project summary, the project’s overall score and average scores for each question, and the project-level reviewer comments. Fuel Cell R&D Funding The Fuel Cell R&D subprogram received $30 million in FY 2019. The subprogram focuses on early-stage applied R&D to reduce fuel cell costs and improve performance and durability, as depicted in the figure below. The funding is expected to achieve increased activity and utilization of low-PGM catalysts, PGM-free catalysts for long-term applications, ion-exchange membranes with enhanced performance and stability at reduced cost, improved integration of catalysts and membranes into membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), and advanced fuel cell performance and durability. Future work is expected to focus on meeting performance, cost, and durability targets for fuel cells with continued work through the consortium approach, further reducing PGM content in catalysts, and expanding the knowledge base to advance fuel cell performance and durability. Approximately $11 million was allocated toward funding opportunities that will support H2@Scale initiatives, including advancing reversible fuel cell stack technologies and prototype systems, as well as medium- and heavy-duty fuel cell applications. FY 2019 Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Report | 213 FUEL CELL R&D FY 2019 Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Report | 214 FUEL CELL R&D Project #FC-017: Fuel Cell System Modeling and Analysis Rajesh Ahluwalia, Argonne National Laboratory Brief Summary of Project The objective of this project is to develop a validated system model and use it to assess design-point, part-load, and dynamic performance of automotive and stationary fuel cell systems. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) will support the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in (1) setting technical targets and directing component development, (2) establishing metrics for gauging progress of research and development (R&D) projects, and (3) providing data and specifications to DOE projects on high-volume manufacturing cost estimation. Project Scoring Question 1: Approach to performing the work This project was rated 3.4 for identifying and addressing barriers, project design, feasibility, and integration with other relevant efforts. • This work is highly relevant to DOE technical targets and provides a needed stack/system element to help ensure research is moving in the right direction. The approach involves development and refinement of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system model, including the latest results from other projects. The approach of investigating various design options, heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) in particular, and using modeling to predict performance and cost makes sense and is helpful. • ANL uses a variety of modeling techniques to shed light on important aspects of fuel cell design, including platinum-group-metal (PGM)-free catalysts and electrodes, alloy catalyst performance and durability, and design specifications related to heavy-duty applications. This project has excellent continuity through the years and uses robust approaches to modeling and interpreting fuel cell design choices. • The approach to modeling is sound and has produced good results year after year. These results are important for understanding systems and can have an impact on moving performance forward, but in an indirect way. The attention to different topics is broad and leverages other efforts, although it is not clear how they are delineated or whether they should be independent projects or nested in other activities such as FY 2019 Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Report | 215 FUEL CELL R&D the Electrocatalysis Consortium (ElectroCat) and Fuel Cell Consortium for Performance and Durability (FC-PAD), where they support other efforts. • This work is an important part of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program, and it supports many other activities, such as FC-PAD, ElectroCat, and technoeconomic modeling (e.g., Strategic Analysis, Inc.’s [SA’s] work). The principal investigator (PI) does a good job at prioritizing areas of focus. • The work is quite valuable. It hinges on a wide range of collaborations with complementary projects and interactions with numerous partners and organizations. Given the amount of data on cells in transient and dynamic conditions, a complete system dynamic model would be valuable for shedding some light on barriers related to system thermal management and transient operation. • The approach used in the project is very good. Evaluating the impact of different materials, designs, and some operations is needed to achieve the overall objectives of the project. Now the whole challenge is to prove the validity of the developed tools. • While not directly working on technologies that could reduce the barriers, the project’s modeling and analysis is effectively integrating the efforts and assessing and/or suggesting promising and relevant pathways to pursue. Question 2: Accomplishments and progress This project was rated 3.3 for its accomplishments and progress toward overall project and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) goals. • The project has many investigations and results. The project progresses well toward the set objectives and the diversity of studied aspects. It also progresses well toward the DOE goals. • ANL has made significant contributions to understanding important aspects of fuel cell design and the effects of these design choices on performance and durability. The work performed in the last year on PGM-free catalysts and electrodes is very important and useful in helping to guide design of these catalysts and electrodes. o That said, the reported results are based on only a single catalyst system (the atomically dispersed Fe-N-C catalyst supplied by Los Alamos National Laboratory). Certain results reported, including the extremely high Tafel slope, seem surprising and may not be accurate. o Furthermore, it is likely that related catalysts (for