Third HyPT Distinguished Webinar

Prof. John T. S. Irvine, University of St Andrews

John Irvine is Professor of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews. He has established a significant international research group investigating fundamental electrochemistry, solid state chemistry and materials science addressing critical energy problems. He has received a number of national and international awards, including the 2016 Schönbeim gold medal from the European Fuel Cell Forum, 2015 RSC Sustainable Energy Award, the RSC Materials Chemistry, Bacon and Beilby awards/medals. Since 2012, he has published 10 Nature family papers. He has held senior visiting appointments in the US, Australia and China and is a Thousand Talents professor at Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter. He was re-elected European Councilor of the International Society for Solid State Ionics in 2015.

Presentation Title: Interfacial Engineering in Solid Oxide Cells

The key technical challenges in solid oxide cells (SOCs) are performance, durability and cost. All three need to be achieved in parallel; however, there are often competitive tensions meaning that e.g. performance is achieved at the expense of durability. The greatest challenge facing SOCs, in both fuel and electrolysis cell modes, is to deliver high, long-lasting electrocatalytic activity while ensuring cost and time-efficient electrode manufacture. Ultimately, this can best be achieved by growing appropriate nanoarchitectures under operationally relevant conditions, rather than through intricate ex situ procedures. Here we look at attempts to nanoengineer this interface to enhance performance and also probe the changes in local structure that relate to activation or ageing during operation. We will present recent results utilizing both exsolution and infiltration chemistries addressing fuel cell and electrolysis operation.

Dr. Shaffiq Jaffer, Formerly TotalEnergies

Dr. Shaffiq Jaffer recently worked with TotalEnergies as Vice President of Corporate Science and Technology Projects in North America. He was engaged across academia, startups, and private research companies, providing consultancy on R&D strategy, road mapping and partnership. He has built research programs across a broad range of areas: development of unconventional and new energy resources, conservation and energy efficiency, materials engineering for energy technologies and electrification of industrial processes. Currently, he consults on the topics of: carbon capture, utilization and storage;, hydrogen, energy efficiency and renewables. Prior to TotalEnergies, he worked for P&G and Koch-Glitsch in research and engineering roles. He is a Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering and Chemical Institute of Canada.

Presentation Title: Bridging the LCOH Gap: Real-World Challenges to Scaling Low-Carbon Hydrogen

The transition to a low-carbon hydrogen economy faces a dual challenge: the high levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) for green hydrogen and the regulatory hurdles for blue hydrogen. For green hydrogen, the path to $2/kg is hindered by three primary capital and operational drivers: 1) renewable energy procurement; 2) electrolyzer capital expenditure including balance of plant and grid interconnection; and 3) logistics gap including the lack of hydrogen pipelines and large-scale storage. Ultimately, I will argue that while technology is maturing, the “green-blue” scale-up is hindered by cost of green hydrogen and scaling carbon capture and sequestration. Due to the number of complex items needing to be scaled, the primary area of investment on green-blue hydrogen should be on production environments that limit the need to store/transport and have access to large amounts of renewable electricity/carbon storage space.