The central objective of POWER-MEE is to research and develop high performance membrane electrode assemblies (MEEs) with low catalyst loading and polarization in the electrodes and very good transport properties in the electrolyte membrane. Another goal is to investigate and reduce aging effects in the MEEs. The overall project involves the use of numerous new materials whose use in electrolysis operations has not yet been researched.
The aim of the subproject is to flank the material development and structural design of the MEEs with an electrochemical model in the sandwich direction to map the polarization behavior. Through the use of the model, non-measurable variables can be made accessible, evaluated and fed back to the process development. Thus, a targeted characterization of the different generations of membrane electrode units is possible. A new feature here is the integration of morphological parameters from 3D microstructure analysis. In addition, a structural analysis approach using tomographic techniques at the nanoscale will investigate and quantify the structural changes during degradation.
Finally, an optimum configuration must be found from the large number of material generations investigated in the project. For the successful use of MEEs, the integral cell behavior under real electrolysis conditions must also be optimized. A further sub-goal is therefore to make a final statement on an optimum configuration by combining the developed models and additional experimental analyses on the integral behavior.