Electrolysis at Nickel: One drawback of solar and wind power is the need for an efficient storage system to release accumulated energy when neither source is readily available (during still nights, for example). Hydrogen derived from electrolysis of water is potentially a useful medium for this purpose, but catalyzing the interconversion efficiently at large scale would currently require a substantial amount of the scarce precious metal platinum. An alternative approach would be to mimic natural enzymatic reactions, which accomplish the interconversion using hydrogenases that incorporate the more abundant metals iron and nickel. In this vein,
Le Goff
et al. (p. 1384 ; see the Perspective by Hambourger and Moore ) have lightly modified a hydrogenase-inspired nickel complex in order to append it to a conductive carbon nanotube support. The resulting hybrid material shows promising catalytic efficiency for reversible aqueous electrolysis in a standard apparatus.
1 January 2015 in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
This roadmap presents the transformational research ideas proposed by “BATTERY 2030+,” the European large‐scale research initiative for future battery chemistries. A “chemistry‐neutral” roadmap to advance battery research, particularly at low technology readiness levels, is outlined, with a time horizon of more than ten years. The roadmap is centered around six themes: 1) accelerated materials discovery platform, 2) battery interface genome, with the integration of smart functionalities such as 3) sensing and 4) self‐healing processes. Beyond chemistry related aspects also include crosscutting research regarding 5) manufacturability and 6) recyclability. This roadmap should be seen as an enabling complement to the global battery roadmaps which focus on expected ultrahigh battery performance, especially for the future of transport. Batteries are used in many applications and are considered to be one technology necessary to reach the climate goals. Currently the market is dominated by lithium‐ion batteries, which perform well, but despite new generations coming in the near future, they will soon approach their performance limits. Without major breakthroughs, battery performance and production requirements will not be sufficient to enable the building of a climate‐neutral society. Through this “chemistry neutral” approach a generic toolbox transforming the way batteries are developed, designed and manufactured, will be created.
1 January 2012 in Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy