Scalable roll-to-roll fabrication of high-performance membrane electrode assemblies

US11462744B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignees

• The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University · US
• VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT · DE

Inventors

• Friedrich B. Prinz · Stanford, US
• Timothy Goh · Stanford, US
• Shicheng Xu · Stanford, US
• Zhaoxuan Wang · Sunnyvale, US
• Soonwook Hong · Yongin-si, KR
• Yongmin Kim · Seoul, KR
• Samuel Dull · Lemont, US
• Dong Un Lee · Gwangjin-gu, KR
• Thomas Francisco Jaramillo · Menlo Park, US
• Thomas Schladt · Eitensheim, DE
• Gerold Huebner · Wolfsburg, DE
• Jonathan Müller · Wolfsburg, DE
• Glavas Vedran · Wolfsburg, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 14, 2020
• Grant date: Oct 4, 2022
• Expiry date: Jul 22, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02P70/50
• WIPO field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A manufacturing process includes: depositing a first catalyst on a first gas diffusion layer (GDL) to form a first catalyst-coated GDL; depositing a first ionomer on the first catalyst-coated GDL to form a first gas diffusion electrode (GDE); depositing a second catalyst on a second GDL to form a second catalyst-coated GDL; depositing a second ionomer on the second catalyst-coated GDL to form a second GDE; and laminating the first GDE with the second GDE and with an electrolyte membrane disposed between the first GDE and the second GDE to form a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). A MEA includes a first GDL; a second GDL; an electrolyte membrane disposed between the first GDL and the second GDL; a first catalyst layer disposed between the first GDL and the electrolyte membrane; and a second catalyst layer disposed between the second GDL and the electrolyte membrane, wherein a thickness of the electrolyte membrane is about 15 μm or less.