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Life cycle assessment of gas atomised sponge nickel for use in alkaline hydrogen fuel cell applications

Benjamin P Wilson, Nicholas Lavery Orcid Logo, David J Jarvis, Tomi Anttila, Jyri Rantanen, Stephen G.R Brown, Nicholas J Adkins, Steve Brown

Journal of Power Sources, Volume: 243, Pages: 242 - 252

Swansea University Authors: Nicholas Lavery Orcid Logo, Steve Brown

Abstract

This work represents the summary of the life cycle assessment of nickel aluminide intermetallic powders as used in the anodes of hydrogen fuel cells, work done for the IMPRESS FP6 project (2004 to 2009). NiAl intermetallics have good catalytic properties making them particularly useful for numerous...

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Published in: Journal of Power Sources
ISSN: 0378-7753
Published: 2013
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa15167
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Abstract: This work represents the summary of the life cycle assessment of nickel aluminide intermetallic powders as used in the anodes of hydrogen fuel cells, work done for the IMPRESS FP6 project (2004 to 2009). NiAl intermetallics have good catalytic properties making them particularly useful for numerous hydrogenation reactions in the chemical industry, as well as electro-catalysts in alkaline fuel cells.The work in this paper represents the culmination of 5 years of data gathering from all the project partners, and the presentation and interpretation of the life cycle assessment of sponge nickel produced by gas atomisation for use in industrial hydrogenation catalysis applications, as compared to the conventional manufacturing route.The results predict that there would be an overall reduction in green house gas emissions of about 10% over the lifetime of the catalyst based on improvements in catalytic activity over the industrial standard baseline, assuming the best case scenario that any technical hurdles to a wide scale adoption were to be overcome. The adoption or penetration of the improved catalysts ultimately determines the realisable environmental benefits, but the work serves as an example of responsible product development where market drive and cost can go hand in hand with environmental improvements.
Item Description: This paper has only recently been accepted for publication in the Journal of Power Sources (5-year impact factor 5.006, 0 citations, Journal ranked 2nd in Electrochemistry), and represents the summary of the life cycle assessment of nickel aluminide intermetallic powders as used in the anodes of hydrogen fuel cells, work done for the IMPRESS FP6 project. The IMPRESS Integrated Project was a large pan-European "flagship" project in the field of applied material science which ran from 2004 until 2009. The project was managed by the European Space Agency and co-funded by the European Commission as part of the FP6 funding framework. IMPRESS comprised a large multi-disciplinary consortium of 40 research groups and companies, with a total 5-year budget of 41 million Euros, combining the expertise of 150+ leading scientists from 15 countries. (http://spaceflight.esa.int/impress/).The work is significant because it demonstrates the possibility and the massive impact of replacing platinum by nickel within the fuel cell. Company contact Tomy.Antila@hydrocel.com or David.J.Jarvis@esa.int.
Keywords: Sponge (Raney) nickel, Gas atomisation (GA), Platinum electrode
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Start Page: 242
End Page: 252