Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/R20984/01
Title:	Development of a Direct Methanol Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
Principal Investigator:	Brandon, Professor NP
Other Investigators:	Atkinson, Professor A Steele, Professor B
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	BG Johnson Matthey University of California (to be replaced
Department:	Chemical Engineering
Organisation:	Imperial College London
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	10 May 2001	Ends:	09 May 2004	Value (£):	183,251
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Electrochemical Science & Eng. Fuel Cell Technologies
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Energy Sports and Recreation
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Fuel Cells are the subject of considerable world-wide interest as an emerging clean, high efficiency technology for the generation of electrical power for both transportation and stationary power applications, with potential fuel cell markets of over $7 billion per annum predicted by 2029 in the passenger Car sector alone. Whilst fuel cell technology continues to develop at a rapid pace, increasing power density, and reducing weight and cost, one key question remains: what fuel will these devices operate on? A recent survey, which considered the full 'well to wheel' impact over the whole life cycle of a range of fuels, concluded that hydrogen and methanol represent the two most attractive fuels, offering inexhaustible and renewable resources with minimum environmental impact. For reasons of reduced system complexity and faster response time, there is now increasing interest in Direct ethanol Fuel Cells, which do not require external reforming to produce a hydrogen rich fuel stream. This study aims to explore a novel variant of one such system, namely the Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (IT -SOFC) operating at temperatures around 500-650C. Such a device is well suited to both transport, portable power and small scale CHP applications. Imperial College are already developing IT -SOFC technology for operation on reformed natural gas. The proposed study will build on this work, focussing on the development of composite anodes suited to direct methanol operation. Promising anodes will be incorporated into cathode supported IT -SOFCs for testing under load.
Key Findings
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Organisation Website:	http://www.imperial.ac.uk