Stanford Novel Fuel Cell Catalyst Has High Activity and Poisoning Tolerance, 1/10,000 the Cost of Platinum

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a low-cost, highly active catalyst that is stable over time and in different chemical environments. This catalyst has a number of advantages over platinum, the current favored catalyst used in fuel cells.

The cost of the materials is roughly 1/10,000 the cost of platinum, meaning this catalyst could dramatically reduce the cost of fuel cells (currently, the material cost of the platinum catalyst may be up to 25% of the entire system cost). This catalyst is also more stable than platinum when operated over long times at high temperature, and is much more resistant to CO and H₂S poisoning than are platinum or nickel (another popular catalyst).  

The catalyst was developed by Stanford Research Associate Timothy Holme and  Stanford School of Engineering Chair, Mechanical Engineering; Director, Rapid Prototyping Laboratory; Co-Director, Center on Nanostructuring for Efficient Energy Conversion Professor Friedrich Prinz. 

Applications

• Fuel cells
• Catalytic processes involving oxidation reactions

Advantages

• Low materials cost of roughly 1/10,000 of Pt
• High activity
• Low surface energy, implying high stability to ripening over time
• High tolerance for anode poisons CO and H₂S

The technology is available for licensing.  Interested parties should contact Luis Mejia, Senior Licensing Associate, luis.mejia@stanford.edu, Tel: 650-723-2300 and reference S09-123.