ReCatalyst and ionysis achieve fuel cell performance milestones

The Slovenian start-up ReCatalyst and the German spin-off company ionysis GmbH are collaborating on the development of next-generation fuel cells as part of the ENABLER project, funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC). The companies have now made significant progress in their technical development.

 

On the one hand, ReCatalyst has developed a new generation of fuel cell catalyst materials based on mesoporous carbons, for which a production patent has also been filed. Using these novel materials, the ionysis team has successfully developed full-format fuel cells (a commercial cell platform with approximately 200 cm² active area), which, for the first time, have achieved the project performance target of >2 A/cm² at 0.65 V. This is a significant milestone in demonstrating the technological maturity of both ReCatalyst’s platinum alloy catalysts and ionysis’s hydrocarbon-based CCM technology.

 

“The collaboration with ionysis is exactly what makes the EIC Transition project very special – it enabled both start-ups to rapidly improve their technologies without compromising commercial goals,” said Dr. Matija Gatalo, CTO ReCatalyst.  “We have been able to reach this significant performance target exactly because of our synergies, since a great catalyst can only show its potential in a highly optimized CCM.”

 

Dr. Matthias Breitwieser, CTO of ionysis, commented: “The timing was perfect: ReCatalyst has made huge progress in catalyst development, while at the same time we have significantly optimized the ink formulation and our direct CCM coating process. This enabled us to integrate both developments into our next generation of hydrocarbon-based CCMs.”  

 

The next step for both companies is scaling. ReCatalyst is scaling up the synthesis of its new catalysts, while ionysis is currently installing the pilot plant for CCM production.

 

“The synergies between us, such as the maturity stage as well as technological complementarity, enable us to thrive,” said Tomaž Bizjak, CEO of ReCatalyst. “We understand each other’s needs and dynamics well and we know that only through such potent innovation we can tackle the challenge of exploiting our commercial potentials in the fast-developing global market with many established players.” 

 

Lisa Langer, CFO of ionysis, added: “EIC Transition offers a unique project setup where the commercialization of technological innovation is prepared from the very beginning. It is a huge benefit for ionysis to have a sparring partner in ReCatalyst and push forward the complementary innovations to move ahead faster in the quest of bringing the next generation of fuel cells to market.”

 

Source: Hydrogentechworld