Advent Technologies Holdings, a developer of highly efficient high-temperature PEM fuel cells, and Hyundai Motor Company have signed a technology assessment, sales, and development agreement. Advent and Hyundai aim to deliver green energy solutions to current high carbon applications, using fuel cell technology. Under the agreement, Hyundai will provide catalysts to Advent for evaluation in its proprietary Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAs), while Advent intends to support Hyundai in fulfilling its fuel cell project needs, through:

• Developing inks and structures using Institute of Fundamental and Advanced Technology (IFAT) catalysts, which will then be evaluated by IFAT. Following evaluation, Hyundai will determine whether IFAT or standard catalysts will be used for this project. (The Hyundai Motor Group launched IFAT in 2019 to focus on innovative technologies for future cars.)

• Supplying MEAs throughout the development/commercialization cycle for testing, evaluation, and optimization under conditions set by Hyundai.

• Assisting Hyundai with the use and specifications of MEAs as well as their implementation into Hyundai’s designs.

Following the completion of the first phase of the project, the companies will collaborate closely to set out specific product requirements, collaborative product goals, as well as milestones for achieving established goals and plans for phase 2, which shall also include Advent’s stack-cooling technology.

The new Advent MEAs to be tested by Hyundai are currently being developed within the framework of L’Innovator, Advent’s joint development program with the US Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and National Renewable Energy Laboratory. MEAs are the most important components of a fuel cell as they greatly define the performance, lifetime, weight, and cost of the end system.

Advent MEAs operate at a high temperature (80 ˚C to 240 ˚C) compared to the incumbent low temperature PEM technology, which is restricted to an operating temperature of below 100 ˚C. The ability to operate at a high temperature confers significant advantages such as the efficient heat removal in heavy-duty mobility applications, making Advent’s high temperature PEM a suitable technology for trucks, aviation, and marine applications.

Advent’s MEAs can operate effectively with fuels such as impure hydrogen which can be reformed on-board from methanol, natural gas, and other renewable fuels. Advent’s MEAs are also resilient to extreme temperature variations, humidity, and air quality conditions.