Imagine a machine that turns water and electricity into clean hydrogen fuel, but currently relies on expensive, hard-to-get minerals from other countries. This project finds a way to build these machines using common materials and recycled parts instead of rare earth elements. It's like swapping a luxury imported part for a high-performance recycled one that works just as well.
SOEC technology relies on expensive, imported rare earth elements and suffers from interconnect corrosion, which increases costs and limits the scalability of green hydrogen production.
A high-density (>95%) low-Cr interconnect steel, REE-reduced ceramic powders for electrodes, and an integrated SOC system demo.
If you are an electrolyzer manufacturer dealing with high raw material costs and supply chain risks for rare earths — this project developed La-free electrodes and recycled Yttrium components that reduce rare earth element use by 30%. This lowers dependency on imports and reduces the cost per kW.
If you are a steel producer dealing with corrosion and chromium leakage in energy systems — this project developed a low-Cr interconnect steel with > 95% relative density. This improves the lifespan and stability of the energy cell.
If you are a recycling firm dealing with hazardous or low-value electronic waste — this project developed methods to recover 50-70% of Yttrium from electrolytes. This creates a new revenue stream from recovered critical raw materials.
It targets the most expensive part, the stainless steel interconnect, by reducing chromium and using powder-metallurgical methods. It also reduces the use of expensive rare earth elements by 30%.
Yes, the project utilizes scalable coating methods including slot-die coating, spray printing, and green inks to facilitate mass production.
Based on available project data, the project focuses on developing new formulations for powders and coatings, but specific licensing terms are not provided.
The project specifically incorporates SSbD (Sustainable-by-Design) tools and ensures regulatory compliance through REACH updates.
The project period runs from 2022-09-01 to 2025-11-30, suggesting results will be finalized by late 2025.
The consortium is highly industry-oriented with a 43% industry ratio, comprising 14 partners across 7 countries. With 6 industrial partners (including 3 SMEs) and 8 research/university entities, the project is well-balanced between academic discovery and commercial application, specifically in materials design and SOC engineering.
Contact VLAAMSE INSTELLING VOOR TECHNOLOGISCH ONDERZOEK N.V. in Belgium
Contact us to connect with the NOUVEAU consortium for licensing rare-earth free electrode formulations.
