(Invited) Membrane Development for Energy Technologies

Abstract

The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) funds high risk, high reward transformational research to reduce energy related emissions, reduce imports of energy from foreign sources, improve energy efficiency across all economic sectors, and ensure US technological lead in advanced energy technologies, including electrochemical energy storage and transformation for grid scale and automotive applications. This presentation will highlight new technologies using ion-selective membranes for energy storage (batteries and flow batteries) and generation (fuel cells) including funded by ARPA-E. Several projects on development of anion-conducting membranes for CO2 reduction and water electrolysis are supported through OPEN program. The Reliable Electricity Based on Electrochemical Systems (REBELS) program is targeting distributed generation for more reliable and flexible smart grid focuses on intermediate temperature fuel cells that operate between 200-500oC. Two types of ionic conducting membranes (proton- and oxygen-conductors) are applied in such fuel cells. The Integration and Optimization of Novel Ionic Conducting Solids (IONICS) seeks to enable transformational electrochemical cells by creating novel solid ion conductors with wide range of desirable properties such as low ionic area-specific resistance, high chemical and electrochemical stability, high selectivity, good mechanical properties and to develop and apply methods for processing of solid ion conductors at a practical scale. The presentation will highlight the use of various ion conducting membranes for separation processes including electrochemical pumps and in fuel cells and flow batteries. Compatibility of fuels, electrocatalysts and membranes will be discussed. State-of-the-art technologies for electrochemical synthesis of fuels and organic active materials using different types of electrochemical cells will be presented.