Patrick Fortin
chercheur scientifique au SINTEF, Norvège
vendredi 24 mai à 14h30, salle de conférence
Next-Generation Membranes for Green Hydrogen Production
Green hydrogen is routinely cited as a major pillar of the clean energy transition by the European Commission and research efforts are well underway to develop innovative materials with better performance, longer lifetimes, lower costs, and increased sustainability. Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is currently the most promising route towards large-scale green hydrogen production but relies on the use of critical raw materials (e.g., platinum group metals and titanium) and materials with sustainability/environmental concerns (e.g., fluorinated membranes). SINTEF, in collaboration with the University of Montpellier, are developing non-fluorinated membranes for PEMWE applications to ensure the future of electrolysis remains affordable, circular, and sustainable.
In addition to PEMWE, green hydrogen can be produced in an alkaline environment using anion exchange membranes (AEMs). While anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) is less mature, it holds significant promise to reduce costs by replacing expensive Pt- and Ir-based catalysts with inexpensive Ni-based catalysts. SINTEF, in collaboration with the University of Montpellier, have proposed a novel class of AEMs based on covalent organic frameworks (COFs) to promote enhanced membrane stability, ionic conductivity, and selectivity.
This presentation will introduce the concept of green hydrogen production and the current challenges that must be overcome to meet the ambitious emission reduction targets set by the EU. Research highlights from the development of non-fluorinated proton exchange membranes and COF-based anion exchange membranes will be presented.
Patrick’s bio:
Patrick is research scientist at SINTEF, a research organization in Norway, where he works in the Electrochemical Hydrogen Technologies group. He received his PhD from Simon Fraser University in 2019 and spent a year at Ionomr Innovations before joining SINTEF. With a background in electrochemistry and a particular interest in polymers, his research expertise is in the field of low temperature fuel cell and electrolyser technologies, both PEM and AEM, where he is coordinating several international research projects on these topics. The EHT group at SINTEF specializes in advanced in-situ characterization of novel fuel cell and electrolyser components to guide the development of next-generation materials.
