SBIR Phase I: ADVANCING PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE WATER ELECTROLYZER TECHNOLOGY USING A MULTIFUNCTIONAL POROUS TRANSPORT LAYER TO PRODUCE LOW-COST GREEN HYDROGEN WITH LOW ENERGY

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the stress on the nation’s energy infrastructure by reducing carbon pollution through increasing energy and electrical efficiencies and integrating renewable energy sources. Electrolysis, a promising hydrogen production option, addresses all these areas and has a global polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzer market valued at $131.01 million in 2022, predicted to reach $2.304 billion by 2031. Phase I of this project targets key design advancements that benefit the broader scientific community, through increased efficiencies of these electrolyzers. The proposed efficiency improvement ensures the United States maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies and enhances economic and energy security by lowering the $/kilogram (kg) of hydrogen, making green hydrogen cost competitive. This, in turn, helps reduce imports of energy from foreign sources as green hydrogen is incorporated, resulting in a reduction of energy-related emissions. The intellectual merit of this project aims to reduce electrolyzer operating expense, constituting 50% of the total ownership cost, by improving electrolyzer efficiency by 20%. This enables polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) to use only 44 kilowatt-hour (kWh)/kg hydrogen (H2), surpassing the Department of Energy’s 2026 targets, and is more efficient than current PEMWE tech at 53 kWh/kg H2. This is realized in Phase I through systematic studies to improve porous transport layer (PTL) design and validate the efficiency improvements under normal commercial operating conditions. As such, Phase I technical objectives are to: (1) Develop an advanced multi-scale, physics-based numerical model to understand the impact of microstructure parameters on mass transport and access the efficiency gains in the tunable 3D space; (2) Harness photochemical etching of the novel titanium microfluidic-based PTL prototypes for precise control of morphology and related performance; (3) Conduct performance tests for design validation and to understand performance and ohmic loss mechanisms; (4) Address market risks relevant to PTL design through mechanical durability and hydrogen crossover testing. Anticipated results include higher efficiency and cost reduction from PTL design optimization, successful implementation of manufacturing leading to scalability and cost effectiveness, and addressing market risks, advancing the product toward commercialization. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.