Smoltek Granted New Patent for Innovative Method Enabling Precise Coating of Iridium
Smoltek Nanotech Holding AB (publ) (“Smoltek” or “the Company”) has been granted a patent for a method that enables precise deposition of iridium – a critical and extremely expensive precious metal used for hydrogen production with PEM electrolyzers – using only standardized laboratory equipment. The patented method represents a significant advance for the development of the company’s technology in porous transport electrodes (PTE).
Smoltek has been granted a new patent in the field of solutions for hydrogen applications. The patented method makes it possible to precisely control the amount of iridium deposited during coating with simple standard equipment in a laboratory environment – something that has so far only been possible with expensive and industrial ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) technology.
– This represents a breakthrough for the possibility of scaling up the production of electrolyzers for green hydrogen – a porous electrode that only needs a minimal amount of iridium as a catalyst for the anode, says Fabian Wenger, Head of Research and Development at Smoltek Hydrogen.
Innovation in brief
The patented method was developed by Xin Wen, senior researcher in nanotechnology, and protects an electrolyzer anode that combines nanostructures, such as carbon nanofibers, with comprehensive corrosion protection in the form of platinum. The platinum coating is designed to follow the contours of the nanostructures, thereby maximizing the surface area. Parts of the surface are also covered with iridium oxide particles that form a continuous catalyst layer, which contributes both to catalytic activity and increased corrosion protection.
Xin Wen and her co-inventors Qi Li and Bastien Penninckx, are part of Smoltek’s Research and Development team – an international team with specialist expertise from China, India, Bangladesh, Switzerland and France. Xin Wen’s, and her colleagues’, work spans the entire development chain – which includes, among other things, nanofabrication of thin film stacks on porous substrates, full cell tests at high proton currents in laboratory cells and characterization of materials after long-term tests. The manufacture of cells takes place in collaboration with suppliers of industrial coating processes, however, the iridium coating method, which is described in the patent, is carried out and refined in Smoltek’s own development laboratory, H2LAB.
– Unlike many other material developers, we ourselves must understand how the entire cell works, because with our technology we coat the electrode directly with catalytic material instead of on the proton exchange membrane, which requires thicker catalyst layers. This enables a more efficient use of iridium in PEM electrolysis, says Ellinor Ehrnberg.
The patent is the seventh in Smoltek’s innovations for hydrogen solutions and strengthens the company’s position as a technology leader in next-generation hydrogen technology – where efficient use of iridium and increased catalytic activity are crucial for sustainable and scalable hydrogen production. The patent also means that Smoltek’s IP portfolio now amounts to 96 globally granted patents.
For further information:
Smoltek Nanotech Holding is a technology company that provides a technology that enables the growth of nanostructures on various materials. The company’s nanostructure manufacturing technology can be used in several industrial sectors. Customers are found in the global process industry and semiconductors. The products that the company develops are used in the production of fossil-free hydrogen and to further miniaturize microchips. The company protects its unique carbon nanotechnology through an extensive patent portfolio consisting of approximately 110 patent applications, of which 96 are currently granted. Smoltek’s share is listed on Spotlight Stock Market under the short name SMOL. Smoltek is a development company and forward-looking statements regarding time to market, production volume and price levels should be interpreted as forecasts and not commitments.
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