TU Berlin receives more than one million dollars in funding from the United States for catalysis research

"In the field of electromobility mainly research on lithium-ion battery technology has been promoted in the past years. But the limits of this technology become more and more obvious," states Peter Strasser, a professor for chemical engineering at the TU Berlin and member of the Cluster of Excellence "Unifying Concepts in Catalysis" (UniCat).

"Thereby the idea of hydrogen based e-mobility slowly returns to the center of attention. In this technology a fuel cell, acting as an energy converter, feeds the electrical motor. Conceivably a fuel cell could also be used as a kind of ‘range extender’ - thus as an additional device to increase the cruising range – interacting with a Li-battery."

His research team constitutes part of a high-profile project of the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), which researches new nano-structured materials. The researchers aim to make the catalytic conversion of hydrogen and oxygen into usable electricity in fuel cells more efficient and less costly. The DoE recently approved a total of 5.3 million U.S. dollars in funding for the next three years, of which approximately $ 1.5 million will go to the TU Berlin.

The TU team works closely with two industrial partners and three academic institutions, namely the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northeastern University and George Washington University.

Hydrogen fuel cells use molecular hydrogen to store energy. Their density is almost 200 times higher than that of a Li-ion battery. In the drive mechanism of the hydrogen-based fuel cell the chemical energy of hydrogen is converted into electrical energy. Although the practical conversion efficiency currently is only about 50 percent, an electric car requires only about six kilograms of hydrogen for a 450 km range, and refueling takes only six minutes. On the other hand, a typical Li-ion battery weighs at least 200 kilograms, takes six to nine hours for loading and provides only enough energy for a range of 200 km. In addition, if the vehicle is solely battery powered it has to be air-conditioned electrically because there is no waste heat. This again can significantly reduce the range.

"When comparing the costs, the fuel cell also scores much better," declares Strasser. "Li-ion batteries currently cost about 300 € per kilowatt hour. In a typical-sized vehicle a range of 200 kilometers amounts to about 12,000 €. Comparable performance characteristics with a fuel cell of the latest generation cost around 5,000 €; in this case the range naturally depends on the size of the tank, not of the fuel cell. "What makes fuel cells expensive is, above all, the precious metal platinum which is used as a catalyst in nanostructured form. Peter Strasser and his colleagues in the joint project want to reduce exactly this part of the costs. So far, 0.8 grams of platinum were needed per kilowatt. The scientists want to reduce this amount to 0.1 grams per kilowatt. At a platinum price of about € 40 per gram, the platinum catalyst would then only make up 400 € of the fuel cell costs. A comparable amount of platinum is currently used in each exhaust catalyst.

The work group led by Professor Strasser has been working on a new family of nanostructured fuel cell catalysts since 2005. They consist of a platinum-poor core surrounded by a thin platinum-rich shell. In the first place this reduces the required amount of platinum; secondly, the platinum-rich shell catalyzes the chemical processes far better than pure platinum. However, the life expectancy of the material during ongoing fuel cell operation is still a challenge. Strasser and his team are looking for ways to stabilize the core-shell configuration with new carrier materials, mainly nitrogen-containing carbon, but also by adding additional metal particles in the nucleus.

"Unifying Concepts in Catalysis" (UniCat) is the sole Cluster of Excellence in Germany researching the economically important field of catalysis. More than 250 chemists, physicists, biologists and engineers from four universities and two Max Planck research institutes from Berlin and Potsdam are involved in this interdisciplinary research network. The Cluster is hosted by the Technische Universität Berlin. UniCat receives funding of approximately € 5.6 million each year as part of the Excellence Initiative of the German Research Foundation.

Battelle-R&D Magazine Annual Global Funding Forecast Predicts R&D Spending Growth Will Continue While Globalization Accelerates

The Battelle-R&D Magazine annual Global R&D Funding Forecast shows global research and development (R&D) spending is expected to grow by about 5.2 percent in 2012 to more than $1.4 trillion.

One of the most remarkable findings of the report is that R&D funding growth will largely be driven by Asian economies-a number projected to increase by nearly 9 percent in 2012. Elsewhere in the world, growth remains strong and stable in the aftermath of the global recession. Greece is the only country among the world's top 40 R&D spenders that is not expected to increase its R&D budget during the next year. The closely watched study also predicts that overall European R&D will grow by about 3.5 percent while North American R&D will grow by 2.8 percent.  

Experts from Battelle and R&D Magazine forecast that a 2.1 percent growth in United States R&D expenditures will be balanced against an estimated 2 percent inflation rate, suggesting that U.S. R&D investments will remain flat in real terms over the next year. That $436 billion in forecasted spending is expected to be broken down in the following way:

U.S. Private Industry will spend by far the largest amount with a projection of $279.6 billion in R&D in 2012, up 3.75 percent over 2011.U.S. Federal Government spending will reach $125.6 billion in 2012, a decrease of 1.16 percent.Academia in the U.S. will spend $12 billion on research in 2012, up 2.85 percent over last year.Non-profits will increase spending in 2012 by 2.7 percent to $14.5 billion and other government entities in the U.S. will round out total R&D expenditures by increasing 2.72 percent to $3.8 billion.

Another notable trend the Funding Forecast reveals is the increased expectation that R&D investments will provide financial returns and positive commercial outcomes. Several years ago, only 10 percent of U.S. industries calculated return on investment (ROI) from R&D efforts, while data from a survey that is part of the Funding Forecast now indicates that 40 percent measure that figure.

"The pharmaceutical industry illustrates this trend best as it faces increased scrutiny of R&D spending versus limited productivity and weak pipelines for blockbuster drugs," said Martin Grueber, Battelle Research Leader and co-author of the report. "However, industry isn't the only sector under the ROI microscope. There also are increasing demands that public sector R&D investments show real economic and policy outcomes."

With 18 U.S. corporations among the top 50 firms ranked by R&D spending, the U.S. remains dominant in manufacturing R&D. However, translating this level of R&D and innovation into output, products and jobs is a challenge faced by both U.S. corporations and government. There is wide agreement that technology collaborations are important to growth with many manufacturers planning on increasing collaborative activity such as knowledge sharing, shorter development cycles and the availability of proprietary technologies.

Survey respondents identified the top three ways government could help support manufacturing R&D as: providing tax credits to companies with active R&D programs, supporting academic R&D in manufacturing and increasing tech transfer support from U.S. national labs to industry.

Energy: Energy-related research sponsored by U.S. manufacturers and technology providers will reach nearly $6.7 billion in 2012, up 23.1 percent from 2011. Global spending by energy-related companies will grow by 7.8 percent to reach $17.9 billion in 2012.

A review panel commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identified key R&D areas where DOE program and investment can play a significant development role, including several in which the DOE historically has underinvested. The areas address both energy supply and demand and relate to both stationary power (deploying clean electricity, modernizing the grid and increasing building/industrial efficiency) and transport power (deploying alternative hydrocarbon fuels, electrifying the vehicle fleet, and increasing vehicle efficiency.)

The panel calls on DOE to maintain a mix of analytic, assessment and fundamental engineering research capabilities in a broad set of energy-technology areas while seeking to balance more assured activities against higher-risk transformational work. At the same time, the report acknowledges that the efforts must be relevant to the private sector. There is a tension between supporting work that industry doesn't-the long term nature of basic research-and the urgency of the nation's energy challenge.

Life Science: United States R&D spending in the life science industry is expected to decline by 5.7 percent to $73.2 billion in 2012 as pharmaceutical firms tighten their R&D budgets. Global R&D spending in the industry also is forecast to decline by 2.2 percent to $147.3 billion.

This sector includes such diverse firms as multi-national pharmaceutical corporations, large medical device and instrument companies and both large and small biotechnology firms.

A major change in the funding and performing of life science R&D is the convergence in public and private sector R&D toward open innovation and open source information-especially in areas needing considerable fundamental research. It is due, in part, to the pharmaceutical industry's retrenchment from its conventional model to a more reduced internal R&D function and focuses more on collaboration and ROI. The ripple effects of impending patent expirations and the widely reported decline in productivity in the development and approval of significant new medicines are driving the strategic changes.

Chemicals and Materials: R&D in the broadly defined chemicals and materials industry is expected to grow by 11.4 percent in the U.S. to $9.3 billion in 2012, while growing by 3.8 percent globally to $33.8 billion.

Nanotechnology and its applications continue to pervade all industrial applications with biomedical applications beginning during the past two years. More than 15 U.S. government agencies propose funding $2.13 billion in nanotechnology research including DOE at $611 million, the National Institutes of Health at $465 million, the National Science Foundation at $456 million and the Department of Defense at $368 million.

An emerging priority in advanced materials is a heightened focus on developing alternative sources or processes related to rare earth metals because of China's recent export limits on supplies. In the industrial sector around the world, closed non-Chinese rare earth mines are being re-opened; however, the environmental requirements for operating these mines have increased since they closed, making additional R&D and capital expenditures necessary to develop new and improved processing programs.

Greener chemical reaction for pharmaceutical production awarded $50,000 in development funding from GreenCentre Canada

A key chemical process used by the pharmaceutical industry has the potential to become less expensive and more energy efficient, thanks to a green chemistry discovery at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Laurel Schafer, a professor of chemistry at UBC, has created a method and a compound that affects a crucial chemical reaction in drug production. Current methods of producing this reaction are costly because they are energy-intensive and require multiple steps that generate waste. 

Dr. Schafer's technology reduces extra steps, is energy-efficient and reduces waste byproducts. It also uses less expensive reagents, substances that react with other substances to produce chemical products.

Recognizing the green promise in Dr. Schafer's work, GreenCentre Canada has awarded Dr. Schafer $50,000 in Proof of Principle funding to pursue further development of her technology.

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