Distinguished seminar: «Materials Innovation for Hydrogen Technologies»

Summary

As the ongoing energy transition proceeds, hydrogen technologies will become increasingly important as the world transitions towards the use of more sustainable energy sources and associated chemistries. However, there still remain significant challenges to be addressed from a technological point if a “Hydrogen Economy” is to be successfully implemented in over the coming years. One of the primary challenges is the development and deployment (e.g. as predicted scales) of cost-effective and efficient devices for the production, storage and use of green hydrogen. The materials used (e.g. as catalytic layers, as coatings, in device components) play a critical role in determining application performance, long term supply chain viability, processing/utilisation at scale, capital and operational costs, and sustainability. At the Luxembourg Institute of Science & Technology (LIST) – a relatively new Research & Technology Organisation (RTO) – the Materials Research & Technology (MRT) department is investigating innovation solutions to identified challenges across the whole hydrogen technology value chain. In this presentation a particular accent will be given to MRT’s R&D focusing on novel materials and their accelerated discovery, the reduction and replacement of critical raw materials (CRM) use, high resolution analytics and prototyping/scale up, with the ultimately goal of reducing the time to market. The presentation will discuss activities relating to green hydrogen production through innovative water splitting, advanced technologies for functional thin film deposition, Platinum Group Metal (PGM) substitution, combinatorial chemistry, robotic screening, characterisation tools and pilot lines. A brief perspective of future departmental activities will also be presented.

Short Biography – Dr. Robin J. White MRSC 

Dr. White completed his studies in Chemistry at the University of York (UK), concluding with a PhD in the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence under the supervision of Prof. J. H. Clark (R&D: Porous Polysaccharides, Mesoporous Carbons). He then was a Max-Planck-Fellowship holder at the Max Planck Institute for Colloids & Interfaces (Germany) in the department of Prof. M. Antonietti (R&D: Functional Carbons for Energy Storage & Conversion) which was followed by a post-doc at TU Berlin in the Functional Materials department of Prof. A. Thomas (R&D: Mesoporous Zeolites). Following a project scientist position at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in the department of Nobel Laureate Prof. C. Rubbia (R&D: CO2-to-Methanol, PtX systems analysis), he moved to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, to found and lead the Sustainable Catalytic Materials Group (R&D: Power-to-Liquids/Fuels, Heterogeneous Catalysis, Process Design, TEA & LCA), as supported by a prestigious Fraunhofer Attract Award. A subsequent move to TNO (Netherlands) as a Senior Scientist – Specialist in Catalysis (R&D: photoelectroand electrocatalytic splitting of water, CO2 electrolysis, plastic recycling) was followed by the transition to his current position as Lead Scientist – H2 & CO2 at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology [LIST]. His R&D interest lies in innovative material systems needed to deliver an ecological and equitable energy transition and sustainable society.