{"id":14974,"date":"2025-10-07T08:40:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T08:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zbt.de\/projects\/pemgalvanokat-long-life-platinum-reduced-cathodes-for-pem-fuel-cells\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T15:48:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T15:48:58","slug":"pemgalvanokat-long-life-platinum-reduced-cathodes-for-pem-fuel-cells","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/zbt.de\/en\/projects\/pemgalvanokat-long-life-platinum-reduced-cathodes-for-pem-fuel-cells\/","title":{"rendered":"PEMGALVANOKAT - Long-life, platinum-reduced cathodes for PEM fuel cells"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PEMGALVANOKAT – Long-life, platinum-reduced cathodes for PEM fuel cells<\/h1>\n

Three research institutes are working on a process to save expensive platinum in the production of catalysts for fuel cells. At the same time, the performance and service life of the cathode catalysts are to be significantly increased. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The catalyst layers<\/strong> are by far the most expensive part of fuel cell stacks. Currently, the high costs and limited durability of cathode catalysts are hindering the widespread introduction of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEM FCs). This is precisely where the new PEMGALVANOKAT<\/strong> research project comes in. In the project, three partners – the fem Forschungsinstitut, the Fraunhofer IAP and the ZBT – are jointly developing innovative, platinum-reduced catalyst layers<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

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Innovative combination<\/h4>\n

First, alloy and core-shell<\/strong> nanoparticles with a greatly reduced platinum content (Pt-X, X = Ni, Co, Cu) are produced in a flow reactor. These are then deposited directly as highly porous electrodes on gas diffusion layers using galvanic dispersion deposition<\/strong>. In a further step, they are processed into membrane electrode assemblies<\/strong> (MEA). <\/p>\n

Goals<\/strong> include:
\n– Reducing the platinum content through Pt alloys and core-shell nanoparticles
\n– Increasing long-term stability through nanoparticle deposition on a Ni-P bonding matrix
\n– Scalable production in a continuous process<\/p>\n

“This project aims to increase the performance<\/strong> of PEMFCs and significantly reduce costs<\/strong> at the same time. This will primarily benefit SMEs in the catalyst and electrode manufacturing sector that want to secure their competitiveness in the growing hydrogen and fuel cell market,” explains project manager and expert scientist Ivan Radev from ZBT. <\/p>\n

Electrochemical Components Department<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Project information<\/h2>\n

Project title:<\/strong> “Highly active and long-term stable cathodes for use in polymer membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) based on novel platinum-reduced catalyst nanoparticles by galvanic dispersion deposition on gas diffusion layers (PEMGALVANOKAT)”<\/p>\n

Project partners:<\/strong><\/p>\n