Department of Hydrogen Energy Materials
- Head of Division
Choi, Seung-mok
Department Introduction
Department of Hydrogen Energy Materials is focusing on development an innovative technical solution for water electrolysis-based green hydrogen production to meet the Korean government’s core agenda for “carbon neutrality”. In detail, the major research fields of the department are development of advanced materials and parts for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) systems, next-generation electrolyzer by using beyond alkaline solution including seawater/waste nutrient solution/waste alkaline solution/neutral solution, and electrochemical CO2 conversion.
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Major Activities
- Development of nonprecious metal-based catalysts for AEMWE : 5 papers published, 1 patent registered, 1 patent applied.
- Development of processes and design strategies for highly durable and large-area electrodes : 3 papers published, 2 patents registered, 1 patent applied.
- Development of AEM stacks and membranes : 2 papers published, 1 patent registered, 1 patent applied.
- Development of seawater/waste nutrient solution-based AEMWE : 1 paper published, 1 patent applied.
Major Research Area
- Full cycle technology (nonprecious metal catalysts – large area electrodes – high efficiency stacks) development for AEMWE systems
- Development of demonstration technology for AEMWE systems at the level of commercial use
- Development of core materials and parts directly applicable to beyond alkaline solution including seawater, waste nutrient/alkaline solution, and neutral solution
- Development of catalysts and membrane electrode assembly (MEA) for electrochemical CO2 conversion under supercritical environment
Future Research Plan
- Development of novel processes and analysis methodologies for highly durable electrodes/MEAs
- 200kW-class AEMWE system localization technology development and demonstration research
- Development of high performance water oxidation catalysts and electrodes under neutral electrolyte and source technology for electrochemical CO2 conversion
- Development of catalysts and electrode processing technologies for waste nutrient solution-utilized AEMWEs for smart farms
- Development of high-reliability electrodes and stacking technologies for seawater electrolyte-based AEMWEs
Major R&D Activities
Development of core materials/parts and demonstration technology for AEMWEs
- Development of high-performance nonprecious metal-based catalysts: overpotential (@ 10mA cm-2) of < 250 mV and < 70 mV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), respectively.
- Advanced electrodeionization processes for large-area, high-uniformity, and high-durability electrodes based on controlling catalysts ions and particles.
- Development of multi-cell-based stack design strategies and high-reliability operation logic for AEMWE systems.
Development of next-generation electrolyzer operated under beyond alkaline solution
- Catalysts and electrodes design technologies specialized for seawater, waste nutrient/alkaline solution, and neutral solution
- Investigating the effect of impurities in beyond alkaline solution on performance degradation of catalysts, electrodes, and membranes.
- Constructing database for catalytic performance under beyond alkaline solution and developing catalyst design and electrodeionization processes to improve performance.