Efficient low carbon energy storage and conversion on exsolved interfaces
Lead Research Organisation:
University of St Andrews
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
Global warming due to excessive CO2 emissions and fossil fuel depletion have urged the development of clean and cheap energy technologies to satisfy the ever-increasing energy demand and net reduction in CO2 emissions. Strategies to utilise CO2 captured from sources such as fossil fuel-based power stations are urgently required to mitigate climate changes. Renewable energy production is likely to be the cleanest method of producing electricity. However, renewable electricity generation through the use of solar, wind or tidal energy transfer is notoriously intermittent and can be inefficient on overcast, still days and non-existent between tides during still days. Developing technologies that are composed of diverse energy sectors including renewables, fuel cells and electrolysis cells is thus vital to fulfil efficient and flexible low carbon energy storage and conversion.
This project will seek to explore and develop the recently discovered materials in diverse electrochemical devices for efficient energy storage and conversion. This include converting CO2 into value added fuels and producing electricity using practical hydrocarbons or biogas. The CO2-derived fuels can be regarded as a storage medium for excess renewable electricity supply, when excess renewable electricity is used to drive the CO2 conversion. These fuels have high energy density, are easy to store and transport, and are compatible with the existing fossil fuel infrastructure that hydrogen (H2) fuels are incompatible with. Additionally, the CO2-derived fuels can in turn be used to generate electricity when the renewables are "down", allowing extra fuelling to the system. The CO2 conversion device proposed can split steam and CO2 in the same flow, producing syngas (CO and H2) which is the feedstock for industrial synthetic fuel production. Further, the same device can reversibly work as a fuel cell to generate electricity. The materials used in these devices are critical to their output. Conventional fuel electrode materials (a mixture of nickel (Ni) and zirconia) have limitations due to their poor stability and durability under realistic fuel environments. Materials development in recent years has been focusing on alternative oxides preferably with the active components at nanoscale to maximise activity. The most exciting recent discovery is a group of titanate perovskites (with a formula ABO3), where their B-site metal, e.g. Ni, can move out of the perovskite lattice as the ambient conditions change. This exsolution of catalysts (metal, alloy, oxide) from the host lattice upon reduction can be used to decorate the electrode surface with nanoparticles offering high catalytic activity. Further, the exsolved nanoparticles are anchored to the surface of the parent perovskite, which makes them considerably more stable than catalysts added by conventional means. Nevertheless, the research on these materials in real electrochemical devices so far has been very limited.
The project will seek to deliver exsolution materials processing approach for CO2 conversion to maximise performance. The methodologies to drive exsolution of nanocatalysts during CO2 electrolysis operations will be developed. Conversion of steam and CO2 in the same flow will be also investigated using these materials, with specific focus on generating products with desirable CO/H2 ratios for industrial fuels synthesis. Finally, switching the electrolyser to fuel cell using realistic hydrocarbons or biogas fuel will be conducted, aiming to advance the development of a low carbon electricity generation system with significant robustness and cost-competitiveness. The overall objective is to develop and demonstrate a novel, efficient, flexible and robust technology as one that can realise both the fuel production through CO2 conversion and low carbon electricity generation, to help addressing utilisation of sustainable renewable energy and CO2 recycling for fuel production and climate mitigation.
This project will seek to explore and develop the recently discovered materials in diverse electrochemical devices for efficient energy storage and conversion. This include converting CO2 into value added fuels and producing electricity using practical hydrocarbons or biogas. The CO2-derived fuels can be regarded as a storage medium for excess renewable electricity supply, when excess renewable electricity is used to drive the CO2 conversion. These fuels have high energy density, are easy to store and transport, and are compatible with the existing fossil fuel infrastructure that hydrogen (H2) fuels are incompatible with. Additionally, the CO2-derived fuels can in turn be used to generate electricity when the renewables are "down", allowing extra fuelling to the system. The CO2 conversion device proposed can split steam and CO2 in the same flow, producing syngas (CO and H2) which is the feedstock for industrial synthetic fuel production. Further, the same device can reversibly work as a fuel cell to generate electricity. The materials used in these devices are critical to their output. Conventional fuel electrode materials (a mixture of nickel (Ni) and zirconia) have limitations due to their poor stability and durability under realistic fuel environments. Materials development in recent years has been focusing on alternative oxides preferably with the active components at nanoscale to maximise activity. The most exciting recent discovery is a group of titanate perovskites (with a formula ABO3), where their B-site metal, e.g. Ni, can move out of the perovskite lattice as the ambient conditions change. This exsolution of catalysts (metal, alloy, oxide) from the host lattice upon reduction can be used to decorate the electrode surface with nanoparticles offering high catalytic activity. Further, the exsolved nanoparticles are anchored to the surface of the parent perovskite, which makes them considerably more stable than catalysts added by conventional means. Nevertheless, the research on these materials in real electrochemical devices so far has been very limited.
The project will seek to deliver exsolution materials processing approach for CO2 conversion to maximise performance. The methodologies to drive exsolution of nanocatalysts during CO2 electrolysis operations will be developed. Conversion of steam and CO2 in the same flow will be also investigated using these materials, with specific focus on generating products with desirable CO/H2 ratios for industrial fuels synthesis. Finally, switching the electrolyser to fuel cell using realistic hydrocarbons or biogas fuel will be conducted, aiming to advance the development of a low carbon electricity generation system with significant robustness and cost-competitiveness. The overall objective is to develop and demonstrate a novel, efficient, flexible and robust technology as one that can realise both the fuel production through CO2 conversion and low carbon electricity generation, to help addressing utilisation of sustainable renewable energy and CO2 recycling for fuel production and climate mitigation.
Planned Impact
Global impact:
The recent discovery that CO2 can be captured and converted into a fuel source is of paramount importance globally. Global warming due to CO2 overproduction and fossil fuel depletion are probably the greatest current threats to mankind. Awareness of the issues has urged the development of clean and cheap energy technologies to satisfy the ever-increasing energy demand and net reduction in CO2 emissions. The utilisation of CO2 is likely to contribute to the expansion of low emission markets and creation of new markets from both energy and environment points of view. Value-added fuel production based on CO2 conversion is an exciting, promising and profitable route to realise CO2 utilisation and climate mitigation in long-term, especially compared with sequestration. This is particularly sensible if the fuel production is powered by cheap renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, tidal, biomass etc. The CO2-derived fuels have very high energy density, and can be stored and transported using the fossil fuel infrastructure. This avoids issues seen for the H2 economy where extra expenditure on a new infrastructure is required. The proposed project will develop a technology to deliver efficient and cost-effective CO2 conversion for fuel production via an electrolyser with the recently discovered materials as catalysts. If this is successful, it will be significantly beneficial for facilitating relevant technologies development and creating interest to translate research into industry. As CO2 captured from existing sources, including fossil fuel-burning power plants, is expected to become available in the coming few decades, this technology will enable the economically viable fuel production from CO2 conversion happen readily, in the short to medium term, mitigating infrastructure costs, carbon footprints and local and national economy impacts. In the short term, the technology will help to address the utilisation of intermittent renewables, as the CO2-derived fuels production driven by using renewables can be regarded as a storage medium for excess renewable electricity supply.
The proposal will also seek to apply the above mentioned rarely reported new-generation materials in reversible electrolysers (i.e. fuel cells) to achieve efficient and cost-competitive carbon neutral electricity generation with practical hydrocarbons or biogas as fuel. The overall objective of the project is to develop and demonstrate a novel technology that is flexible and robust to enable both efficient and profitable fuel production from CO2 conversion and low carbon electricity generation from complex fuels. The key output will be creation of solid knowledge foundation in these areas of science and technology, which will contribute to enable the development of a decentralised system with several energy sectors, including renewables, fuel cells and electrolysers etc. Overall these will be seen to reshape the energy usage structure leading to displacing fossil fuels and transition to a sustainable energy economy in the future. By pushing this technology forward ang collaborating with industrial partners seeking upscaling and commercialisation, the UK will maintain its position at the forefront of cheap and clean energy technology.
Academic impact:
The research project will benefit the CO2 conversion and fuel cell academic community both theoretically and experimentally, and I will be interacting with the global community through publications, networking, conferences and workshops. In addition, by hiring a post-doctoral researcher who will work in synergy with me on the structure and surface property aspects of the materials and working with PhD student and project students, I will build on the UKs expertise in this field.
The recent discovery that CO2 can be captured and converted into a fuel source is of paramount importance globally. Global warming due to CO2 overproduction and fossil fuel depletion are probably the greatest current threats to mankind. Awareness of the issues has urged the development of clean and cheap energy technologies to satisfy the ever-increasing energy demand and net reduction in CO2 emissions. The utilisation of CO2 is likely to contribute to the expansion of low emission markets and creation of new markets from both energy and environment points of view. Value-added fuel production based on CO2 conversion is an exciting, promising and profitable route to realise CO2 utilisation and climate mitigation in long-term, especially compared with sequestration. This is particularly sensible if the fuel production is powered by cheap renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, tidal, biomass etc. The CO2-derived fuels have very high energy density, and can be stored and transported using the fossil fuel infrastructure. This avoids issues seen for the H2 economy where extra expenditure on a new infrastructure is required. The proposed project will develop a technology to deliver efficient and cost-effective CO2 conversion for fuel production via an electrolyser with the recently discovered materials as catalysts. If this is successful, it will be significantly beneficial for facilitating relevant technologies development and creating interest to translate research into industry. As CO2 captured from existing sources, including fossil fuel-burning power plants, is expected to become available in the coming few decades, this technology will enable the economically viable fuel production from CO2 conversion happen readily, in the short to medium term, mitigating infrastructure costs, carbon footprints and local and national economy impacts. In the short term, the technology will help to address the utilisation of intermittent renewables, as the CO2-derived fuels production driven by using renewables can be regarded as a storage medium for excess renewable electricity supply.
The proposal will also seek to apply the above mentioned rarely reported new-generation materials in reversible electrolysers (i.e. fuel cells) to achieve efficient and cost-competitive carbon neutral electricity generation with practical hydrocarbons or biogas as fuel. The overall objective of the project is to develop and demonstrate a novel technology that is flexible and robust to enable both efficient and profitable fuel production from CO2 conversion and low carbon electricity generation from complex fuels. The key output will be creation of solid knowledge foundation in these areas of science and technology, which will contribute to enable the development of a decentralised system with several energy sectors, including renewables, fuel cells and electrolysers etc. Overall these will be seen to reshape the energy usage structure leading to displacing fossil fuels and transition to a sustainable energy economy in the future. By pushing this technology forward ang collaborating with industrial partners seeking upscaling and commercialisation, the UK will maintain its position at the forefront of cheap and clean energy technology.
Academic impact:
The research project will benefit the CO2 conversion and fuel cell academic community both theoretically and experimentally, and I will be interacting with the global community through publications, networking, conferences and workshops. In addition, by hiring a post-doctoral researcher who will work in synergy with me on the structure and surface property aspects of the materials and working with PhD student and project students, I will build on the UKs expertise in this field.
Organisations
- University of St Andrews (Lead Research Organisation)
- Southwest University (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- United States Naval Research Laboratory (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL (Collaboration)
- Haldor Topsoe A/S (Project Partner)
- Hexis AG (Project Partner)
- The European Marine Energy Centre Limited (Project Partner)
- Scottish Hydrogen& Fuel Cell Association (Project Partner)
- Low Emissions Research Corporation LLC (Project Partner)
Publications
Chanthanumataporn M
(2019)
Electrical reduction of perovskite electrodes for accelerating exsolution of nanoparticles
in Electrochimica Acta
He S
(2021)
Investigation on B-Site Exsolved Titanates and its Structure-Property Relationship as Fuel Electrode in Solid Oxide Cells
in ECS Meeting Abstracts
He S
(2021)
In-situ construction of ceria-metal/titanate heterostructure with controllable architectures for efficient fuel electrochemical conversion
in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
He S
(2021)
Investigation on B-Site Exsolved Titanates and its Structure-Property Relationship as Fuel Electrode in Solid Oxide Cells
in ECS Transactions
Hui J
(2018)
Metal-oxide interactions for infiltrated Ni nanoparticles on A-site deficient LaxSr1-3x/2TiO3
in Solid State Ionics
Kim E
(2018)
Improved electrochemical performance of LiCoPO4 using eco-friendly aqueous binders
in Journal of Power Sources
Li B
(2020)
A Ce/Ru Codoped SrFeO 3-d Perovskite for a Coke-Resistant Anode of a Symmetrical Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
in ACS Catalysis
Liu Z
(2023)
Tuning exsolution of nanoparticles in defect engineered layered perovskite oxides for efficient CO2 electrolysis
in Journal of Energy Chemistry
Pukhova A
(2021)
Examine Operando Generated Ni-Based Alloy Nanomaterials as Fuel Electrode in Solid Oxide Cells
in ECS Meeting Abstracts
Pukhova A
(2021)
Examine Operando Generated Ni-Based Alloy Nanomaterials as Fuel Electrode in Solid Oxide Cells
in ECS Transactions
| Description | In this project, we have been working on fine tuning of materials and properties through doping, in-situ processing and optimising operational conditions to develop an innovative pathway of producing active and robust nanocatlyst with cost-effectiveness. The methodology has been generating highly active nanomaterials under CO2 electrochemical conversion operating conditions and use theses nanomaterials for efficient and long-lasting operations for low carbon energy storage and conversion. These include CO2 conversion to value-added precursors for chemicals and fuels via CO2 electrolysers, green hydrogen production through steam electrolysers as well as low carbon electricity production based on H2 and methane fuel cells, which can typically be fulfilled by the reversible solid oxide cells. Through our work, great understanding on materials properties, microstructure and associated electrochemical performance have been made, with cell performance significantly improved. 1) the critical operating conditions to trigger efficient production of nanomaterials in pure CO2 environment were identified, and the performance of the resulting nanomaterials were characterised with their features detected; 2) materials with different dopants and diverse doping levels have been explored, and it has been found that while dopants, e.g. Co improving conductivity and catalytic activity, impacting the phenomena of nanomaterials production, they also bring challenges and need trade-offs to meet electrode requirements, for instance, matching of thermal expansion with other cell components; 3) with both cerium and nickel doping at different site, production of observable and functioning nano-oxide and metal nanoparticles was established through novel processing, which, combined, demonstrated excellent performance towards H2 and methane fuel cells compared to that with only metal nanoparticles. This work has been published on a high impact journal; 4) steam electrolysis operating conditions were supplied to realise nanoparticles production too and were compared to that with CO2 electrolysis. The aim was to boost the population of nanoparticles produced, owing to the easiness associated with steam electrolysis. However, experimental results revealed very different phenomena, possibly stemming from diverse microstructure and material property requirements in these conditions. More work is needed to elucidate the reasons for the distinct performance from exsolution in these two conditions. Whilst the advanced understanding and cell performance, limits and potential problems from the proposed electrochemical processing towards generating functioning nanomaterials have been realized. 1) The high voltage (>2.0V) that is necessary to produce a decent population of nanoparticles was found detrimental to the electrode/electrolyte interface, with longer exposure leading to deterioration of dense electrolyte structure at the interface. 2) With highly active nanomaterials successfully produced and yielding exciting electrochemical performance, it was found that in the operational conditions of CO2 electrochemical reduction, such as at 1.5V, the initial high performance can not sustain due to limiting surface mass diffusion processes. A possible origin is likely to be the inadequate ion conducting properties in the single oxide electrode, and introduction of an ion conducting oxide did seem to improve the surface reaction. Collaborations on in-situ surface characterizations have been sought, especially under the electrochemical working conditions, to elucidate the limiting process. A collaborative work with US Naval Research Lab is underway, utilizing the versatile triplet spectroscopy (detecting surface temperature, chemistry and electrochemistry simultaneously) instrument they have in NRL. |
| Exploitation Route | -- We have published some of our research findings on the high impact journal 'Applied Catalysis B: Environmental' and communicated with peers and reviewers during the publishing process. This paper dealt with a new method of growing oxide nanocatalysts which has not been reported by other researchers. In addition, papers as conference contributions were published, in which the new methodology and material used were revealed. I would expect to have increasing interest in the reported materials and methodology from a wide range of community exploiting them in various applications. -- By attending the international conference on Solid State Ionics and international symposium on solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCXVII) and giving oral talks as well as a poster presentation, we have disseminated our results and communicated with the wider communities of CO2 utilisation, energy materials, fuel cells, H2 productions etc. Invited talks were given, such as at the H2FCSUPERGEN (18 year celebratory workshop with participants from across academia, local councils, industries etc), and the RSC solid state chemistry group 2022 meeting. We have identified potential collaborators for future work as well. -- Meeting with Cell development scientist and Head of technology and innovation from Hexis was set up and collaboration opportunities were discussed with positive feedback. So continuing engagement to bring collaboration in practice will be sought, which will be significantly valuable for translating the lab scale research into industrial relevant scales. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Chemicals Creative Economy Education Energy Environment Transport |
| Description | The project seeks to develop an innovative approach to fabricate active nanomaterials for low carbon energy storage and conversion applications concerning electric to chemical energy conversion and vice versa. The concept is based on on-site generation of electro-catalyst in CO2 electrolysis operational conditions and uses this as a vehicle to produce active nanomaterials on demand in applications including green fuel production (e.g. steam/CO2 electrolysis), low carbon electricity (H2/methane fuel cells) and beyond. Due to the intricate processes occurring at high temperature in these applications (>600oC), it is extremely useful to incorporate in-situ characterisation techniques which analyse materials under operating conditions or alike, in combination with the post-mortem techniques (i.e. ex-situ techniques) that have been widely conducted. However, there has been limited efforts on in-situ investigation, owing to the difficulty in overcoming the limitations originated from high temperature operations, along with the entangled chemical and electrochemical processes at high temperature. Through this project, we have established collaborations with several institutes focusing on developing in-situ measurements of materials of interest for low carbon energy storage and conversion technologies. Our collaboration with U. S. Naval Research Lab, where a versatile triplet spectroscopy facility is developed, measures temperature, surface chemistry and electrochemistry simultaneously from a real-world sample, rather than simplified model samples as have been studied conventionally. The collaboration is foreseen to bring bunches of extremely valuable data for fundamental studies of the nanomaterials as well as rational design of electrochemical device integrating the nanomaterials. Through the project, we have engaged with researchers and experts from a wide background as well as industrial collaborators and other stakeholders at conferences, workshops, and webinars, disseminating our research outcome. we have also interacted with the Centre for Energy Ethics at the University of St Andrews, with experts and audience from diverse disciplines and across sectors, discussing on how to balance our energy demands and create a better energy future for us all. |
| Sector | Education,Energy |
| Description | Participated in the consultation response to the Scottish Government's draft Hydrogen Action Plan |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | ETP KEN II Industrial Engagement Fund Award |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | PR054-ECS |
| Organisation | Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2022 |
| End | 05/2022 |
| Description | ScotCHEM ECR equipment funding call 2022 |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | ScotCHEM |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start | 06/2022 |
| End | 12/2022 |
| Title | Examining Operando Generated Ni-Based Alloy Nanomaterials as Fuel Electrodes in Solid Oxide Cells (dataset) |
| Description | The attached data files underpin the publication "Examining Operando Generated Ni-Based Alloy Nanomaterials as Fuel Electrodes in Solid Oxide Cells". The following file types and formats are included: -X-ray Diffraction data files: .xlsx and .xls(can be opened with Microsoft Excel) -Thermogravimetric analysis data files: xlsx and .xls -DC conductivity analysis data files: xlsx and .xls -Scanning electron microscopy: .tif or png and .txt -Energy dispersive spectroscopy: .xlsx -Electrochemical characterization: .xlsx |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This dataset has been used to create another publication on a special issue on Solid oxide fuel/electrolysis cells from the Journal of Electrochemical Society. |
| URL | https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/datasets/examining-operando-generated-nibased-alloy-nanoma... |
| Title | In-situ construction of ceria-metal/titanate heterostructure with controllable architectures for efficient fuel electrochemical conversion (dataset) |
| Description | The attached data files underpin the publication "In-situ construction of ceria-metal/titanate heterostructure with controllable architectures for efficient fuel electrochemical conversion" which was accepted for publication on the journal 'Applied Catalysis B: Environmental' in Aug 2021. The following file types and formats are included: -X-ray Diffraction data files: .xlsx and .xls(can be opened with Microsoft Excel) -Scanning electron microscopy: .tif -Transmission electron microscopy: .tif -Energy dispersive spectroscopy: .xlsx -Electron energy loss spectroscopy: .xlsx -Electrochemical characterization: .xlsx and .txt |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This has been realized in my group, and there're ongoing continuing research from this dataset. |
| URL | https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/admin/editor/dk/atira/pure/modules/datasets/external/model/dataset/e... |
| Title | Investigation on B-site exsolved titanates and its structure-property relationship as fuel electrode in solid oxide cells (dataset) |
| Description | Dataset for the manuscript published on ECS Transactions as a contribution to the conference of the17th International Symposium on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC-XVII) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This dataset has been useful resource for other group members, to compare to their data and have a better understanding when working on similar materials. |
| URL | https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/datasets/investigation-on-bsite-exsolved-titanates-and-its... |
| Description | In-situ characterization of solid oxide electrolysis cells operating with CO2 fuel |
| Organisation | United States Naval Research Laboratory |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | My team prepared the materials of interest and manufactured solid oxide electrolysis cells with different fuel electrode materials. The samples were sent to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (Optical Science division) for in-situ and operando characterizations. The PI has been setting up meetings and discussing with collaborator on design of cell configuration, materials of interest, operating conditions etc. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Have been in effort to conduct the in-situ/operando simultaneous thermal imaging and infrared spectroscopy characterization of the samples provided by St Andrews. These operando measurement have been based on real sample rather than building model samples (which simplify significantly the cell design compared to real sample) that were commonly performed in literature. |
| Impact | An abstract based on the collaboration work was submitted to the international solid state ionics -23 conference, which will be held in Boston, July 2022. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Southwest University, China |
| Organisation | Southwest University |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | 1. My expertise on ceramic processing, such as tape casting has contributed to this collaboration; Exchange of materials 2. Access to microscopes that are housed in St-Andrews, and PDRA on the project of this award conducted the microstructure measurement and analysis on the material of interest and engaged with collaborator on data analysis, manuscript writing and review; |
| Collaborator Contribution | PDRA on the project of this award met Dr Ni, who used to work at St Andrews and moved back to China for research, at a UK-China network workshop held in Shanghai in Oct 2019, and discussed some potential collaboration opportunities. For the collaboration that was carried out, Dr. Ni and his team worked on the material synthesis and characterisations for solid oxide cells; draft manuscript on collaborated work; |
| Impact | Two publications have been generated from this collaboration. 1. A Ce/Ru Codoped SrFeO3-d Perovskite for a Coke-Resistant Anode of a Symmetrical Solid Oxide Fuel Cell. https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.0c03554 2. a-PbO2-type niobate as efficient cathode materials for steam and CO2 electrolysis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2020.229234 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Triggering exsolution of nanoparticles with plasma treatment |
| Organisation | University of Liverpool |
| Department | Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I had discussed my idea of using plasma treatment to speed up the production of nanomaterials with my collaborator. Following that, I and my team prepared some pristine materials and characterized the materials morphologies and microstructures after plasma treatment. I have also conducted the high resolution microstructure analysis with the facilities at St Andrews for some materials my collaborators are working with for low carbon energy applications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Upon our discussion and experimental design, my collaborators, Prof Xin Tu and his team, did the plasma treatment to generate nanoparticles from the pristine material. With feedback from St Andrews on materials microstructure analysis results, plasma treatment conditions have been varied, including, temperature, duration, gas atmosphere etc., to seek optimization for efficient production of nanoparticles. |
| Impact | This collaboration is multi-disciplinary, with experts on plasma physics, electronics, solid state materials, and chemistry involved. By exchanging materials and |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | XPS study of the surface chemistry of the exsolution materials in the application of solid oxide cells for energy storage and conversion |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My team provided samples for XPS study, discussed sample characteristics/properties that were obtained by our study using other techniques, assisted in XPS results analysis. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Measured the samples with their facilities and conducted result analysis, discussed results and exchanged knowledge via Teams meetings. Also, the findings were orally presented at the project meeting of the MISE (Multiscale Tuning of Interfaces and Surfaces for Energy Applications) network centre in November 2021. |
| Impact | The findings of the initial samples from this collaboration was orally presented at the MISE (Multiscale Tuning of Interfaces and Surfaces for Energy Applications) network centre in November 2021 for knowledge dissemination; A manuscript with some of the results from the collaboration, together with the results that were obtained from various techniques conducted at St Andrews, is under preparation and submission for publication is expected in June 2022 |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Attended Energy Ethics 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Centre for Energy Ethics at the University of St Andrews aims to tackle one of the most urgent and profound challenges facing humanity today: how to balance our energy demands with our concerns for anthropogenic climate change. Organised by the Centre and Energy Ethics team at the University of St Andrews, Energy Ethics 2020 was a virtual event taking place in late 2020. It brought together scholars, industry representatives, and members of the ERC-funded Energy Ethics team (at the University of St Andrews) through online sessions focused on discussion and debate on we can open up dialogue, how can avoid monologue and think about people, not energy resources as a result of climate change and solution, whether renewable energy technologies are a sustainable solution for meeting today's energy needs or not, how can we make the transition from fossil economy to low carbon economy with economic and social sustainability, how can work together at scale for making the transition happening etc. The PI has perceived some interesting views from people working on very different fields, especially those from social anthropology, one of the important piece was that, as a society, we should not only working on solutions to increase energy production to meet demands, but also on the ways of wasting less energy which is seemingly easy but quite difficult to bring it into practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Attended a talk and discussed collaboration opportunities with external seminar speaker |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | PI went to the talk given by an external speaker who is an expertise in surface chemistry/structure characterisation. PI also went to lunch with the speaker, and discussed possibilities of collaboration. Plans have been made regarding getting access to external facilities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Attended and presented a talk on the Centre for Innovation and Energy Storage (CIES) workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This event was the first meeting hosted by the Centre for Innovation and Energy Storage (CIES), who's aim is to establish transformational collaboration between universities and businesses to address both Scottish Government's Energy Strategy and Priorities and the UK's Industrial Strategy. The Innovation Centre will have three elements: an Academic Collaboration based on the partner universities; an Innovation Facility based on The Eden Innovation Campus; and an Energy Storage Research Cluster housed within a new Interdisciplinary Energy Research Centre on the North Haugh Campus. The event brought together the expertise from academia and industry to address one of the world's most important technology challenges: the efficient storage of renewable energy. It had two sessions of round table discussion between the centre and representatives from a number of industries on the first day, the main purpose was to introduce the Centre and to attract industrial collaboration on delivering energy storage. What the centre can offer and what industries need or can offer were discussed with some ideas generated. The event the had a series of talks given by speakers from both academia and industry on the second day. The PI of this award gave a talk on CO2 utilisation and the on-going research in our group regarding CO2 conversion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Attended the 'Newton Fund Researcher Links Workshop on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells' held in Shanghai, China on 21-23 Oct 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The workshop, focused on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells, was organised by the University of Nottingham and Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences under the Researcher Links scheme offered within the Newton Fund. It provided a unique opportunity for sharing research expertise and networking for early career researchers. During the workshops, early career researchers had the opportunity to present their research in the form of a poster/short oral presentation and discuss this with established researchers from the UK and China. There was a focus on building up links for future collaborations and participants selected on the basis of their research potential and ability to build longer term links. As the PI was on maternity leave (from 18 Oct 2019 to 2 Apr 2020), colleague (postdoc working on the project) participated in this workshop and presented our research and had networked with the expertise and other UK researchers sharing the similar research interest. Possible collaboration opportunities were sought. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Attended the CIES-ETP-SHFCA Energy Storage meeting-The 9th Annual Energy Storage meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Both PI and colleague attended this meeting, which was hosted jointly by the Energy Technology Partnership (ETP), the Centre for Innovation in Energy Storage (CIES) and the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (SHFCA). The meeting, with the topic of 'Energy Storage & Innovation: Delivering a Clean Transition in Scotland', brought together a selection of speakers from Scottish industry and academia who had highlighted the progress being made in Scotland's drive towards meeting the ambitious targets of the Scottish Energy Strategy. In particular the speakers highlighted the challenges their areas face in delivering Scotland's Energy Needs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Attended the international conference of Solid State Ionics-22 and orally presented latest research findings |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The PI of this award attended the 22nd International Conference on Solid State Ionics, which was held 16-21 Jun 2019 in PyeongChang, South Korea. The conference had more than 500 participants from all over the world. The PI had given an oral presentation (paper no. P00948) on this conference in the session of 'Solid oxide fuel cells and electrolysers'. Through attending the conference and presenting our latest research findings, we have engaged with peers from other institutes, universities and industrials with a lot of intake from discussion and networking, which is very helpful for future planning of this project as well as possible collaborative work. The PI had also attended talks in other relevant sessions including 'All Fundamental Aspects of Solid State Ionics (Perovskites & Derivatives), and had a lot of learning regarding new knowledge, diverse methodology and new techniques. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://ssi-22.org/ |
| Description | Attended the meeting on Climate change and sustainability |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The event was hosted at the University of St Andrews. It had attendees from across schools, Guardbridge, Estates, Centre for Academic, Professional and Organisational Development (CAPOD), and a handful of external attendees. There was a brief introduction of high-value interdisciplinary funding calls from UKRI and beyond. Presentations were given by attendees talking about their research interest and businesses regarding climate change and sustainability, followed by round table discussions which gave a chance to discuss ideas and future funding opportunities with colleagues from disciplines across the university. The PI of this award attended this meeting, presented the research, and talked to some colleagues. Interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities were sought. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Attended the meeting to meet up delegates from the Aerospace Technology Institute |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) that are interested in any technology which has either direct or spill over benefit to the civil aviation industry visited our university, in order to explore all of our research strengths, with sustainability a major focus area, with a view to funding research. ATI are very interested in fuel cells, ways to reduce CO2 emissions and reliance on fossil fuels in air travel. The PI attended the meeting where delegates from ATI and researchers from our university had presentation and following round table discussion, with lots of potential identified for funding, long term partnerships and collaborations. There would be follow-ups with ATI around specific research project ideas and identify the most appropriate funding streams. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Attended the monthly Eden Campus Industry club workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Attended a series of workshops from the Eden campus industry club, with speakers mainly from industries and some from academia conducting industry-facing research. There were panel discussion following talks in each workshop, the talk sparked questions and discussions on technology, policies, context etc on energy storage and conversion and net zero target by 2050. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| Description | Attended the webinar of eCOCO2 "From CO2 into fuels: A scientific, industrial, social and political perspective" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Attended the virtual webinar on 'From CO2 into fuels: A scientific, industrial, social and political perspective' which was organized by the eCOCO2 (Direct electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 into chemical energy carriers in a co-ionic membrane reactor) consortium. The workshop is directly relevant to the research my team has been doing, therefore the purpose was to interact with other researchers and experts and to discover industrial, social, political progress on CO2 capture and uitlisation technology and widen views. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Delivered an invited talk at the RSC Solid State Chemistry Group ECR 2022 meeting in September 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | XY attended the online RSC Solid State Chemistry Group ECR 2022 meeting and delivered an invited talk 'Towards operando generation of nanomaterials in Solid oxide cells for CO2 conversion' during this two-day meeting, with attendees being members of the RSC Solid State Chemistry interest group, postgraduate students and industrial experts. Talks on various solid state materials and applications were listened, with invited speakers sharing their career paths and development as well with the audience. Positive feedback were posted on twitters. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Delivered an invited talk at the Supergen H2FC 18 year celebratory event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | PI was invited to speak on the 'Progress and Future Challenges in Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research - Towards Net Zero (18 years of H2 & Fuel Cell Research celebratory event)', which was an interesting workshop with over 200 participants from across academia, industry, local councils as well as policy makers. A talk on 'Towards Operando Generation of Nanomaterials in Solid Oxide Cells' in session 1: Advances in fuel cells and electrolysers was given, and PI answered questions and participated in the panel discussion following the session talks. The workshop was a great networking and outreach opportunity; PI discussed with experts from the field by presenting recent research findings and answering questions; exchanged viewpoints with panel members and audience through panel discussion. It was a great chance to increase visibility and attract potential collaborator. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.h2fcsupergen.com/progress-future-hydrogen-fuel-cell-research/ |
| Description | Participated in the 17th international symposia on solid oxide fuel/electrolysis |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Team members attended the 17th international symposium on solid oxide fuel cells, and presented research findings in oral and poster presentations, in order to networking with peers, disseminate knowledge and seeking potential collaborators. Two conference papers have been published on ECS Transactions following the conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Participated the Eden Campus Industry Club workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The Eden Campus Industry Club have been organising several online workshops, in order to bring together the companies (that have been involved in energy related activity) and academia to work closely with the University of St Andrews, to have access to the latest research and developments, and to shape the direction of the University's new Centre for Energy Storage and Conversion at Eden Campus. The PI and PDRA have attended two of their virtual workshops, which had about 70 attendees with excellent talks from industry delegates including Arcola Energy, Impact Solutions, and LERG. Knowing what the industries are doing on H2 trains/buses, battery vehicles, renewable energy harvesting etc, what technology bottlenecks they're facing, and what academia research can do to work together with industries are extremely important to realise the net-zero energy scenario. There were questions and open discussions following the talks, which have stimulated increased interest in collaborations between companies and academia to deliver integrated energy systems to reduce carbon footprints. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Talked with a professional science writer about my project within the activity of the Centre for Energy Ethics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | As a member of the Centre for Energy Ethics (CEE) at the University of St Andrews, I got the opportunity to talk to a professional science writer who had written an abstract of my research project. This piece of research description has been displayed in the 'Research Projects' area of the CEE website, showcasing my research to broader, non-academic audiences and increasing the visibility of my work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://energyethics.st-andrews.ac.uk/research-project/making-carbon-dioxide-an-asset/ |
| Description | Virtual H2FC Innovation Workshops organised by Hydrogen and Fuel cell Research, H2FC Supergen Hub |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The H2FC Innovation workshops were organised by H2FC Supergen Hub. The PI, with an intention to network and reach out possible future collaborators as well as to learn industrial perspective, attended several of these workshops which were highly relevant to the project of this award. The workshops had presentations and open discussions focused on hydrogen and fuel cell research challenges and opportunities, with participants from a wide community including industries, local councils, academia, policy makers, postgraduate students etc. The very recent one was an industrial perspective on H2 and fuel cell research challenges and opportunities, which was received as highly interesting in the context of net zero emissions strategy by 2050 in the UK. Discussions were made on various questions regarding what will be the future energy systems comprised of, what is participants' vision about low carbon energy in 10 years, what we can do to reach decarbonising our energy system etc., attendees shared their thoughts on the questions and brought other relevant and inspiring questions to discussion as well. Through the talks and discussions, the PI perceived that while people value a lot on H2 as future energy carrier, there was lack of effort on CO2 capture and utilisation (especially from industry). This has triggered some reflections on why this situation and what are holding the industries back from working directly with captured CO2 as a source for fuel and energy generation. This could potentially change views and produce new ideas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| Description | Visited the Incheon National University in South Korea |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | PI and some colleagues were invited to visit the Incheon National University in South Korea and give a talk. Around 20 postgraduate students attended the seminar. After the talk, there was a poster session with questions and discussion brought foward. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |