WP1 |
- D1.1 - Project shared workspace implemented and operational - CONFIDENTIAL To fulfil two fundamental internal project communication requirements: i) efficient exchange between partners of information about CRESCENDO project ii) decentralised and secured archiving of the documents generated, one independent and secured web-based communication tool: Project Shared Workplace – PSW has been implemented with a restricted access for project partners only. Among all the functionalities installed on this PSW, for now partners have a total access to the following tools: Document sharing and archiving ; Meeting organization ; General project communication ; Online working document ; Project management. The PSW maintenance is therefore an on-going activity that will go along with the project lifetime |
- D1.2 - TRUST reporting year 2 - CONFIDENTIAL The TRUST on-line data collection application was populated with results on single cell performance on H2/air of a membrane electrode assembly comprising a non-PGM cathode catalyst, and Pt anode catalyst. |
- D1.3 - Mid-term progress report submitted - CONFIDENTIAL Parts A and B of the RP1 progress reporting were submitted according to schedule. |
- D1.4 - TRUST reporting year 3 - CONFIDENTIAL The TRUST on-line data collection application was populated with results on single cell performance on H2/air of a membrane electrode assembly comprising a non-PGM cathode catalyst, and Pt anode catalyst. |
- D1.7 - Progress Report M19-M36 Excellent technical progress has continued to be made towards the final fuel cell performance targets, with significant improvements made in the catalyst kinetic activity through new modifications to catalyst synthesis in WP3. In WP4, two non-PGM oxides have been identified as having a stabilising role in the fuel cell over the initial tens of hours of operation, and the use of ultra-low (μg) amounts of platinum – the most effective and durable means known to date – was further optimised allowing platinum loading to be even further reduced. Catalyst scale-up in WP5 was successful and catalyst ink and catalyst layer development with the scaled-up catalyst will be carried out in early 2021, and the resulting CCMs provided to WP2 for testing. Non-PGM anode catalyst development and catalyst ink formulation have progressed sufficiently well to allow planning for an all-non-PGM (anode and cathode) membrane electrode assembly. |
WP2 |
- D2.1 - Cell and system requirements and cell testing protocols In this deliverable report the technical specifications for the CRESCENDO single cell components are presented. The specifications are based on the automotive requirements and operating conditions. In addition standard testing protocols and sensitivity tests are defined for the purpose of fair comparison between partners, while integrating European harmonised protocols where relevant. |
- D2.2 - Benchmarking commercial SoA non-PGM CCMs and catalyst The results of benchmarking the performance of commercial PGM-free based CCMs are presented. The results are in good agreement between different partners, despite the use of different testing hardware. The commercial PGM-free CCMs exhibit lower performance than the project performance targets providing 0.15 A/cm2 @,418 V under operating mode 3, while the performance target is 0.6 A/cm2 @ 0,71 V. This report also provides the results of ex situ RDE electrochemical characterisation of the commercial Fe-N-C catalyst. |
- D2.4 - Cost and life cycle analysis and exploitation potential - CONFIDENTIAL Deliverable D2.4 describes the cost assessment for the PGM-free stack, based on the assumptions for high volume production of 50,000 fuel cell stacks per year and using the stack design of earlier FCH JU project INSPIRE as baseline for the cost calculation. MEA production costs were estimated and the stack performance needed for the correlation to €/kW was calculated by using test results from small-scale single cell measurements. The cost assessment delivered a normalised stack cost that is significantly higher than the target value of 50 €/kW for automotive applications. |
WP3 |
- D3.1 - Site Density and Turnover Frequency of Selected Benchmark Catalysts This deliverable report describes the benchmarking of four non-platinum group metal (non-PGM) containing catalysts, consisting of key performance metrics, such as electrocatalytic mass activity (MA), selectivity, site density (SD) and catalytic turnover frequency (TOF). SD and TOF were evaluated using in situ nitrate reduction and ex situ low temperature CO chemisorption in combination with rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) measurements. The iron coordination environment was determined by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Surface area and pore volume were determined from nitrogen adsorption isotherms. Electrochemical measurements were performed with a RRDE to determine the kinetic current and the selectivity of the catalysts to the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The properties of these benchmark catalysts will be used as a baseline to guide needs to increase the SD or TOF to reach the activity targets of the project, and to better assess the activity improvements realised with the new non-PGM catalysts prepared in CRESCENDO. |
- D3.2 - Promising non-PGM catalyst activity showing progress toward WP targets - CONFIDENTIAL This report describes the development of novel non-PGM cathode catalysts in the first 12 months of CRESCENDO. New catalyst were developed with mass activity of 0.66 A/g @ 0.9 V and single cell current density on oxygen of 12.7 mA/cm2 @ 0.9 V. |
- D3.3 - Electrochemical activity parameters of new catalysts showing progress toward project targets - CONFIDENTIAL This report describes the development of novel non-PGM cathode catalysts in the first 18 months of CRESCENDO. New catalyst were developed with mass activity of 0.92 A/g @ 0.9 V and single cell current density on oxygen of 15 mA/cm2 @ 0.9 V. |
- D3.5 - Final Report on WP Achievements in Terms of Activity of new Catalysts - CONFIDENTIAL This report describes the developments in WP3 from project months 24 to 43 in terms of catalyst activity. The main focus in this period was on the catalyst down selection and synthesis upscale, as well as on the further characterization of already developed catalysts and support materials. The main achievements of WP3 include the down selection of a catalyst for upscale and testing in WP5 and WP2. The best performing catalyst at the end of the project achieved a power density of 0.42 W cm-2 at 0.6 V in H2/air, i.e. the final power density goal of the CRESCENDO, albeit at a lower voltage than the targeted 0.7 V. |
WP4 |
- D4.1 - Ex situ AST peroxide protocol definition and its application to selected benchmark catalysts In this deliverable report a novel protocol is established to investigate the effect of H2O2 on the activity for O2 reduction of Fe-N-C catalysts. The novel protocol involves a continuous addition of a peroxide solution with a peristaltic pump. A well-known Fe-N-C catalyst was selected, for which the effect of H2O2 had previously been investigated by adding peroxide instantaneously. This former protocol may however have led to different effects than when peroxide is added continuously, the latter case better reproducing the conditions occurring in an operating PEM fuel cell. Several parameters of this peroxide-accelerated stress test were investigated, such as the rate of addition of peroxide and the pH. The results show that, for a same cumulative amount of peroxide per mass of Fe-N-C catalyst, a similar decrease in ORR activity is observed for the investigated Fe-N-C catalyst when applying either the novel (continuous addition of peroxide) or the former protocol (instantaneous addition of peroxide). The rate at which peroxide is added with the pump plays only a minor role on the deactivation, in the range investigated so far. The pH of the solution in which the Fenton reaction takes place has a role, with more acidic pH leading to slightly less active catalyst than when deionized water is used. The novel AST with peroxide proved reproducible and allows an easy control of the cumulative amount of peroxide added and also the rate at which it is added. This protocol will now be applied to other FeNC catalysts (benchmarking study) and also to novel catalysts prepared in CRESCENDO. |
- D4.2 - Effect of addition of ROS on durability improvement - CONFIDENTIAL |
- D.4.3 - Report on sacrificial organic compounds as ROS scavengers to actively protect Me-N-C catalysts against H2O2 - CONFIDENTIAL |
- D.4.4 - Durability of platinum-free cathode layers in single cell PEMFC - CONFIDENTIAL |
WP5 |
- D5.1 - Identification of the main performance loss mechanisms seen in layers made from reference catalyst - CONFIDENTIAL - D5.2 - Quantification of the performance improvement achieved by rational re-design of layers using the Reference catalyst - CONFIDENTIAL |
- D.5.3 - Most promising catalysts from WP3 and WP4 scaled up and shown to match performance of small batch samples - CONFIDENTIAL |
- D.5.4 - 50 cm2 active area CCMs fabricated using the most promising catalyst for testing in BMW hardware in WP2 - CONFIDENTIAL |
WP6 |
- D.6.1 – Non-PGM anode catalyst with improved performance - CONFIDENTIAL This report describes the integration of Ni based bio-inspired molecular catalysts to porous electrode matrices for the development of non-PGM based anodes for the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR). Several electrode materials and deposition strategies were employed. These lead improved performance and set a new benchmark for heterogeneous molecular HOR, by reaching current densities of 130 mA cm-2 at 0.4 V vs RHE (30 mA cm-2 at 0.1 V and 25 A mgNi-1). Characterisation of the molecular based anode through RDE and FE measurements is also reported. |
- D6.2 – Ultra-low PGM anode catalyst with improved resistance to CO poisoning - CONFIDENTIAL |
- D6.3 – Report on activity, resistance to poisoning and stability under cell reversal conditions of down selected non-PGM and ultra-low PGM anode catalyst - CONFIDENTIAL |
WP7 |
- D7.1 - Project Website The CRESCENDO project website is designed to fulfil project communication and dissemination needs for the benefit of the whole scientific community and the public through relevant information including: − project overall objectives, partner & work packages information − project activities: news, meetings − project progress: technical publications, conference presentations, public domain reports − project resources: links, related events … − project contact information and newsletter subscription All the partners will collectively participate in the dissemination objective of the website by providing up-to-date information |
- D7.2 - Dissemination and knowledge management protocol - CONFIDENTIAL This report presents the dissemination protocol for the CRESCENDO project, the procedure for “Open Access” to peer reviewed research articles, internal rules, information on support from the EU members and the strategy for Knowledge Management within the project. |
- D7.3 – Dissemination and Communication bundle comprising a package of visual identity tools and project brochure, 2 publications in international journals, 4 conference presentations, 2 annual newsletters During the first 24 months of the CRESCENDO project the consortium undertook various dissemination and communication measures. Target groups include industry, academia, government bodies and the public. |
- D7.4 - Organisation of an International Conference “Challenges for Zero Platinum for Oxygen Reduction and Hydrogen Oxidation" CRESCENDO jointly organised with the H2020 CREATE project (http://www.create-h2020energy.eu) the second edition of the Electrolysis and Fuel Cell Discussions conference, EFCD2019, dedicated to catalysts with minimum amount of Critical Raw Materials, and in particular of Platinum Group Metals. This highly successful international conference was held at La Grande Motte in France, 15-18 September 2019. Attended by 160 international participants, it provided the opportunity to apprise the state of the art, showcase CRESCENDO and CREATE results and interact with other FCHJU/H2020 funded projects, including PEGASUS, which was invited toshare a special session; |
- D7.5 - Survey of dissemination activities and final plan for dissemination and exploitation of project results The CRESCENDO consortium undertook numerous dissemination and communication activities throughout the duration of the project despite the pandemic that has mainly impacted the conference attendances and the networking activities in the second period of the project. CRESCENDO consortium was very successful in disseminating the project results, especially with the joint organisation of an international workshop with NMBP CREATE, the publication of 14 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 24 presentations at international conferences and workshops. Various target groups included industry, academia, government bodies and the public were reached. After the end of the project, the consortium will continue to carry out further activities to disseminate and exploit the results. The protection of intellectual rights of results issued from CRESCENDO project will still follow the agreed dissemination protocol, to ensure confidentiality and the legitimate interests of the partners, according to the Grant Agreement article II.30 and the internal dissemination protocol (D7.2). |