Current PEMFC stack technologies for automotive applications show limitations in performance, durability and production cost which are primary challenges to reach mass production and fuel cell commercialization. It is obvious that filling the gap between present State Of the Art performances and expected targets will not be possible by an incremental evolution of the present PEMFC technology as deployed today in first commercial cars. Thus, it is necessary to identify, develop and validate a more innovative, disruptive approach including new materials and processes to have a chance to reach these ambitious challenges. In this perspective, the DOLPHIN project is exploring an unconventional, highly innovative route towards a newly designed cell architecture featuring a Dual-Core Single Repeat Unit (DC-SRU). Thanks to smart approaches in the fields of ‘Process Integration’, ‘Interfaces Quality’ and ‘Materials Efficiency’, DOLPHIN will deliver a light-weight & compact fuel cell and stack architecture with low (mass/charge) transport resistances inside the fuel cell core. Mechanically strong and corrosion resistant structures with redesigned and more coherent cell-internal interfaces will delay the activation of major ageing mechanisms and failures occurrence hence increasing system reliability to a level compatible with automotive durability targets. Finally, by triggering an original concept relying on two integrated multi-functional cores and two architectures (w/o GDM) of increasing level of disruptiveness, DOLPHIN will finally deliver a reinvented process scheme with projected stack production costs less than 20 €/kW. DOLPHIN will in that sense address drastic fuel cell stack requirements for the automotive industry and beyond. It consists in another step forward toward the large-scale deployment of environmentally friendly vehicles, while also participating to the increase in European competitiveness, industrialisation and self-sufficiency in energy.

The R&D project PEMTASTIC aims to meet the key technical challenges to increase durability of MEAs for HD applications. These challenges are approached with a combination of model-based design and the development of a durable CCM using innovative materials tailored for heavy duty operation at high temperature (105°C). The quantitative targets correspond to a durability of 20,000 hours maintaining a state-of the art power density of 1.2 W/cm2@0.65 V at a Pt loading of 0.30 g/kW. Truck mission profiles will be analyzed (Symbio) in order to define relevant FC operation protocols and stressors. Degradation tests will be carried out in differential cells and will be assisted by physical-chemical material characterization to assure well defined data required for parametrization of degradation models (CEA, DLR). A combination of micro- and mesoscale models as well as 1D and 2D cell models (ZHAW, DLR) will capture the impact of material parameters on performance and durability and will address all material and CCM parameters which will be iteratively adapted by industry partners. The materials which will be implemented and adapted are advanced corrosion resistant supports (Imerys) combined with a novel catalyst deposition technique (Heraeus) to mitigate for ECSA loss. Prototype Nafion ionomers and membranes with high conductivity in dry conditions will be used (Chemours). Eventually, an improved cathode catalyst layer will be designed considering Pt particle size distribution and superior catalyst ionomer interaction (IRD). The selection of a commercial GDL will consider accommodation of a wide range of operating conditions. The final MEA and the concept of model-based MEA development will be validated in a short stack at TRL4 (Symbio). As additional outcomes, implications on system management and on the BoP components will be drawn, and the reduced computational demand for degradation modelling will facilitate fast health assessment and performance prediction.

PEM water electrolysers (PEMWE) and PEM fuel cell (PEMFC) technologies currently rely on perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA)-based materials and components, which pose significant health and environmental risks due to the release of toxic fluorine groups during production and disposal. Moreover, the production of PFSA remains costly, compounding the challenges associated with their use. Therefore, the ECOPEM project aims at developing safe-by-design, non-fluorinated hydrocarbon-based membranes, reinforcements, and ionomers. This ambitious work will be facilitated by the development and implementation of life cycle thinking tools addressing environmental and economic dimensions to drive the research and innovation using quantifiable sustainability criteria. ECOPEM will deliver scientific breakthroughs in the design and processing of materials, components and membrane electrode assembles (MEAs) enabling replacement of PFSAs by hydrocarbon-based polymers in membranes and catalyst layers. The project will validate the significant benefits of these MEAs by demonstrating an increased current density, reaching a minimum of 3 A cm-2 at a cell voltage of 1.8 V and degradation rate 1.5 W/cm2 at 0.650 V and a degradation rate < 5 µV/h for PEMFC using harmonized JRC testing procedures. Achieving these ambitious targets would result in a new standard for hydrocarbon-based MEAs for PEMWE and PEMFC applications.

eGHOST will be the first milestone for the development of eco-design criteria in the European hydrogen sector. Two guidelines for specific FCH products (PEMFC stack and SOE) will be completed and the lessons learnt will be integrated in the eGHOST White Book, a reference guidance book for any future eco-design project of FCH systems. eGHOST aims to support the whole FCH sector. Therefore, it addresses the eco-(re)design of mature products (PEMFC stack) and those emerging with TRLs around 5 (SOE) in such a way that sustainable design criteria can be incorporated since the earliest stages of the product development. eGHOST will go a step beyond the current state of the art of eco-design by incorporating eco-efficiency assessment, i.e. combining environmental and economic decision-making tools, and social life cycle assessment to determine the social impacts of the products. Therefore, eGHOST proposes a sustainable (re)design looking at minimizing the economic, environmental and social impacts of the products along their life cycle. Other innovation will be the use of prospective approach for the life cycle thinking tools used to assess the products performance, i.e. to determine the impacts of all the life cycle stages of the product at the time of its occurence. This is required to get valid information of those products at early stages of development. The European Commission considers eco-design as a key factor to fulfil its commitment to a climate-neutral and circular economy in 2050 as identified in different documents (EU Green Deal, New Industrial Strategy for Europe, Circular Economy Directive…). eGHOST will contribute to positioning FCH in this context by developing the first preparatory study of a hydrogen product under the guiding principles of the Eco-design Directive. As well, eGHOST will improve the understanding of FCH technologies as a sustainable investment under the EU Taxonomy, and will enhance Corporate Social Responsibility studies.

Hydrogen is expected to play a key role as an energy carrier in the path towards global sustainability. Nevertheless, right decisions are needed to make fuel cells and hydrogen (FCH) systems effective in this crusade. Besides technological advancements, methodological solutions that allow checking the suitability of FCH systems under sustainability aspects from a life-cycle perspective are needed to sensibly support decision-making. Such methodological contributions should rely on well-defined guidelines that allow a reliable assessment and benchmarking of FCH systems. In this sense, sound guidelines for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) of FCH systems are urgently needed. The goal of SH2E is to provide a harmonised (i.e., methodologically consistent) multi-dimensional framework for the LCSA and prospective benchmarking of FCH systems. To that end, SH2E will develop and demonstrate specific guidelines for the environmental (LCA), economic (LCC) and social (SLCA) life cycle assessment and benchmarking of FCH systems, while addressing their consistent integration into robust FCH-LCSA guidelines. These guidelines aim to be globally accepted as the reference document for LCSA of FCH systems and set the basis for future standardisation, going beyond the update of past initiatives such as the FC-HyGuide project and the IEA Hydrogen Task 36 through their reformulation to deal with underdeveloped topics such as material criticality and prospective assessment. For the sake of practicality and extended use of the guidelines, key SH2E outcomes also include user-friendly, open-access software tools with illustrative case studies, also being a source of publicly available data reviewed by a third party. Thus, the project is aligned with international initiatives towards global sustainability, including the Innovation Challenge on Renewable and Clean Hydrogen, by providing robust frameworks and tools that help decision-makers check the sustainability of FCH solutions.