Recycling & Reuse of Ionomers and Platinum Group Metals from Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysers - CYCLOPEM

Project summary

Rationale/Needs Addressed
• Anticipate large scale Proton exchange membrane water electrolyser (PEMWE) roll out in coming years
• Critical raw material (CRM) use raises supply risks and negative environmental impacts
• Recycling required to enhance supply chain resilience and circularity
Objectives
• Develop a novel, low-impact approach to CRM recycling from PEMWE
• Combine computational modelling, materials chemistry, and electrochemical engineering to optimise recovery, reuse and performance
• Demonstrate low CRM, high-performance electrodes through innovative design and fabrication
Potential Applications
• Improved PEMWE performance with a sustainable lifecycle
• Extendable to other CRM-dependent devices (e.g. fuel cells)
Impact & Potential Benefits
• Support CRM Act, Net Zero Industry Act and EU Green Deal via resilient, circular CRM use in H2 production, at reduced cost and environmental impact
• Innovations improve PEMWE performance and support large scale deployment