Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras

A Separator Electrode Assembly with Novel Separator and a Bifunctional Catalyst Material

Technology Category/Market

Technology: A separator & a Bifunctional catalyst material used in water electrolysis technology.

Industry: Green Energy/Clean Energy, Electro-Chemical; Applications: H2 production, Power plant, Electronics & PVs, Steel Plants, Energy storage.

Market: The global water electrolysis market size is projected to be valued $9.318B by 2030, at a CAGR of 6.0% during forecast period (2022-2030).

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Problem Statement

  • In the water electrolysis technology, the prior electrolyzers use membranes/separators & DI water for operation. These membranes or separators are expensive and use of DI water results in depletion of water source.
  • So, there is a demand to use natural water resources such as seawater or ground water.
  • The major challenges of sea water electrolysis observed in many prior arts are chlorine corrosion, impurities & multiple ions present in the water.
  • There are also several ion adsorption on the cathode & anode surface further make both Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) & Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) sluggish.
  • Hence, there is a requirement to introduce novel catalysts & separator to mitigate above challenges & other issues.

Technology

  • Present invention describes a separator electrode assembly (SEA) for water electrolyzer (FIG. 1).
  • Further, the present invention explains about a method of preparing bifunctional catalyst material.
  • Present invention provides a separator electrode assembly for a water electrolyzer wherein the assembly comprises a separator sandwiched between an anode & a cathode.
  • The separator is a cellulose based material in combination with synthetic polymer-based material.
  • The anode and cathode are formed by coating a bifunctional catalyst material on a non-metal substrate.

Key Features/Value Proposition

Technical Perspective:

  1. Present separator electrode assembly is a zero-gap, single flow cell membrane-less separator electrode assembly for the water electrolyzer.
  2. The catalyst material is employed in Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER), Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER), Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR), Alkaline fuel cell, battery, or Electrochemical sensor.
  3. Selectively produce oxygen at the anode over hypochlorite & hydrogen production at the cathode on electrolysis of sea water.
  4. The bifunctional catalyst material is a transition metal-metal oxide-carbon nanocomposite.
  5. The assembly electrolyzes natural water, selected from tap water, ground water, or sea water.

Industrial Perspective: 

  1. Present patent discloses separator electrode assembly which is cost effective & simple in design for scale up production.
  2. The process of preparing bifunctional catalyst material is sustainable & cost-effective.
Questions about this Technology?

Contact for Licensing

Research Lab

Prof. Ramaprabhu S

Department of Physics

Intellectual Property

  • IITM IDF Ref. 2501
  • Patent Application No: 202341034478

Technology Readiness Level

TRL- 3/4

Proof of Concept ready & validated

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