Research

We are dedicated

to integrating latest material developments into state-of-the-art fuel cells, electrolyzers and batteries.

We focus

on devices with polymer electrolyte membranes, mostly proton or anion exchange membranes.

We develop

membranes, electrodes and membrane-electrode-assemblies for various electrochemical devices.

We analyze

materials from milimeter to nanometer range using cutting-edge equipment to uncover bottlenecks.

We cooperate

with leading material experts developing new catalysts or polymers to integrate their materials.

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Contract Research

We offer individual services and contract research: from characterization and materials to consulting and seminars.

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Recent achievements

Hydrocarbon-based fuel cells with state-of-the-art performance

Non-fluorinated hydrocarbon ionomers feature distinct technical, cost, and environmental advantages over perfluorinated sulfonic acid-based ionomers. In this study, we present wholly hydrocarbon fuel cells exceeding previous literature landmarks by a factor of nearly two, with peak power densities of 2.1 W cm⁻² under H₂/O₂ and 1.1 W cm⁻² under H₂/air.

80% reduction of Iridium catalyst for electrolysis

Iridium is a particularly rare metal that is indispensable for efficient water electrolysis. Reducing its loading is thus key for affordable green hydrogen. By introducing iridium oxide nanofibers, we were able to reduce the catalyst loading by 80% without compromising efficiency or stability! The technology received the F-Cell Award in 2019.

Fluorine-free electrolysis and fuel cells

Commercially available fuel and electrolysis cells today contain fluorine-based polymers, so-called perfluorinated sulfonic acids. With alternative materials based on polysulfones and polyphenylenes, we were able to take a major step towards fluorine-free cells with comparable performance.

3D reconstruction of electrodes to simulate transport properties

With an infiltration method developed in our group via atomic layer deposition, we are able to produce reliable 3D reconstructions of the nanostructure of fuel cell, battery or electrolysis electrodes. With our extensive software equipment and expertise, we are able to assess the substance transport in these electrodes quantitatively. The methodology has now been transferred to fuel cells, electrolysis cells or Li-ion batteries.

2022

2020

2019 and before

Publications

Water electrolysis

Hegge, Friedemann; Lombeck, Florian; Cruz Ortiz, Edgar; Bohn, Luca; Holst, Miriam von; Kroschel, Matthias et al. (2020): Efficient and Stable Low Iridium Loaded Anodes for PEM Water Electrolysis Made Possible by Nanofiber Interlayers. In: ACS Applied Energy Materials 3 (9), S. 8276–8284.
Ortiz, Edgar Cruz; Hegge, Friedemann; Breitwieser, Matthias; Vierrath, Severin (2020): Improving the performance of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers with low Ir-loaded anodes by adding PEDOT. PSS as electrically conductive binder. In: RSC advances 10 (62), S. 37923–37927.
Klose, Carolin; Saatkamp, Torben; Münchinger, Andreas; Bohn, Luca; Titvinidze, Giorgi; Breitwieser, Matthias et al. (2020): All‐Hydrocarbon MEA for PEM Water Electrolysis Combining Low Hydrogen Crossover and High Efficiency. In: Advanced Energy Materials 10 (14), S. 1903995.

Fuel cells

Hien Nguyen, Florian Lombeck, Claudia Schwarz, Philipp A. Heizmann, Michael Adamski, Hsu-Feng Lee, Benjamin Britton , Steven Holdcroft, Severin Vierrath and Matthias Breitwieser(2021): Hydrocarbon-based Pemion™ proton exchange membrane fuel cells with state-of-the-art performance. In: Sustainable Energy & Fuels 5.14 (2021): 3687-3699.
Böhm, Thomas; Moroni, Riko; Breitwieser, Matthias; Thiele, Simon; Vierrath, Severin (2019): Spatially resolved quantification of ionomer degradation in fuel cells by confocal Raman microscopy. In: Journal of The Electrochemical Society 166 (7), F3044.
Breitwieser, Matthias; Klingele, Matthias; Vierrath, Severin; Zengerle, Roland; Thiele, Simon (2018): Tailoring the Membrane‐Electrode Interface in PEM Fuel Cells. A Review and Perspective on Novel Engineering Approaches. In: Advanced Energy Materials 8 (4), S. 1701257.
Hegge, Friedemann; Sharman, Jonathan; Moroni, Riko; Thiele, Simon; Zengerle, Roland; Breitwieser, Matthias; Vierrath, Severin (2019): Impact of Carbon Support Corrosion on Performance Losses in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells. In: Journal of The Electrochemical Society 166 (13), F956.

Batteries

Shanahan, Brian; Britton, Benjamin; Belletti, Andrew; Vierrath, Severin; Breitwieser, Matthias (2021): Performance and stability comparison of Aemion™ and Aemion+™ membranes for vanadium redox flow batteries. In: RSC advances 11 (22), S. 37923-37927.
Shanahan, Brian; Böhm, Thomas; Britton, Benjamin; Holdcroft, Steven; Zengerle, Roland; Vierrath, Severin et al. (2019): 30 μm thin hexamethyl-p-terphenyl poly (benzimidazolium) anion exchange membrane for vanadium redox flow batteries. In: Electrochemistry Communications 102, S. 37–40.
Vierrath, Severin; Zielke, Lukas; Moroni, Riko; Mondon, Andrew; Wheeler, Dean R.; Zengerle, Roland; Thiele, Simon (2015): Morphology of nanoporous carbon-binder domains in Li-ion batteries—A FIB-SEM study. In: Electrochemistry Communications 60, S. 176–179.