Dec 16, 2024
The NIMPHEA project recently held its fourth General Assembly on December 9-10, 2024, at the Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA) in Grenoble, France. This two-day meeting brought together partners from across the consortium to discuss the latest technical achievements and align on the project’s future direction.
Highlights of the meeting included updates on work packages, roundtable discussions including one on the development of next-generation components. A visit to the CEA laboratory provided partners with valuable insights into the project’s technical elements and advancements.
The event showcased the innovative and collaborative spirit driving the NIMPHEA project, paving the way for the next phase of progress in hydrogen technology.
Sep 10, 2024
Partner presentation 🤝
Institute of Chemistry and Processes for Energy, Environment and Health (ICPEES)
Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) / University of Strasbourg (Unistra)
The Institute of Chemistry and Processes for Energy, Environment and Health (ICPEES) is a joint unit between the French National Research Council (CNRS) and the University of Strasbourg (Unistra), focusing on key topics such as catalysis and materials, polymer engineering and molecular chemistry and analytics.
In the frame of NIMPHEA, CNRS/Unistra will oversee the development of the core components of the next generation of MEAs, and develop adapted carbon supports (e.g., corrosion resistance, high developed surface, etc.) and active phase (e.g., platinum nanoparticles) for such aim. They will also perform an electrochemical assessment of the electrocatalysts kinetics for the HT-PEMFC anodic and cathodic reactions along with the assessment of the ionomer-H3PO4-electrocatalyst interactions.
“For ICPEES, NIMPHEA is synonym of green flights, a cleaner sky, and a diversified energy supply: Let us fuel innovation with HT-PEMFC and create a more sustainable future by 2030.“
Amaria Wafaa Oudjdi (Doctoral student) & Kirill Dosaev (post-doc)
Meet the team (from left to right):
- Cuong Dong-Viet (Research Engineer)
- Kirill Dosaev (Post-Doc);
- Sergey Pronkin (Senior lecturer);
- Amaria Wafaa Oudjdi (Doctoral student);
- Tristan Asset (Research fellow);
- Cuong Pham-Huu (Research Director);
- Jean-Mario Nhut (Research Engineer)
Jul 11, 2024
NIMPHEA coordinator (Safran) has been invited to the Vienna Aviation Days to present the NIMPHEA project, its goal and challenges, in front of a multidisciplinary audience focused on hydrogen powered aviation.
Organised by the EXFAN project and hosted by Technische Universität Wien, those two days of conference and informal exchanges have been very fruitful.
Thanks a lot for the invitation !
Jul 11, 2024
On June 26th and 27th, the NIMPHEA project held its third General Assembly meeting at Fraunhofer in Pfinztal (Germany).
Partners were gathered to present their main technical achievements and results, offering vision about the project’s progression on the development of a new generation of HT-MEA.
The agenda was structured between presentations from WP leaders on their activities since the last General Assembly and roundtable discussions to go through current project issues: a discussion on the choice of the MEA architecture and the upcoming first Periodic Report.
Thank you to the whole NIMPHEA team which made this meeting a success with insightful technical discussions.
And special thanks to Fraunhofer for welcoming the consortium in Pfinztal !
May 15, 2024
Partner presentation 🤝
Safran Power Units is Safran Group Fuel Cell center of excellence: it aims to mature this very promising technology for the decarbonization of aviation.
Safran PU is specialised in the design and manufacturing of Auxiliary Power Units (APUs), starting systems for civil and military aircraft, as well as turbojet engines for missiles and target drones. It also innovates and develops new solutions for power generation that are ever more efficient, cleaner and more economical, by relying on hybridization and fuel cell technology.
Safran Power Units is the Project Coordinator of the NIMPHEA project. As such, Safran Power Unit will be in charge of the technical, financial and administrative coordination of the project. Safran PU will also lead and monitor the dissemination and communication activities and will ensure the long-term exploitation of project results.
From a technical point of view, Safran Power Unit will focus on the new MEA specification, and will guide MEA manufacturing actors to reach and aeronautical quality level of manufacturing process and the management of safety topics related to the development of a new technology of fuel cell stack core component.
Safran PU will also lead the TRL evaluation of this new MEA . Safran PU will be part of the validation phase using a full size MEA and Safran PU bipolar plates.
“The High temperature PEMFCs technology would present all the advantages to tackle the integration, performance, reliability and climate neutrality challenges that aviation field requires.
By being part of the NIMPHEA consortium and managing it, Safran Power Units will contribute to raise the maturity of this technology by studying one of its core component“.
Yan Duranteau, NIMPHEA Project coordinator / Project leader in R&T department
Meet the team:
Yan Duranteau, NIMPHEA Project coordinator / Project leader in R&T department
Marion Scohy, Company expert in Electrochemistry / Fuel cell stack
Julien Esteban, Company expert in Materials Engineering
Sarah Zorninger, Industrial Pilot in R&T department
Patrick Raynal, Industrial manager in R&T department
Maxime Beauvais, Reliability and Safety Engineer
Yan Duranteau and Marion Scohy, leads in project management and technical coordination
Mar 6, 2024
Partner presentation 🤝
CEA-Liten is a major European research institute and a driving force behind the development of the sustainable energy technologies of the future. The institute is spearheading the EU’s efforts to limit dependency on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in three key areas: renewable energy, energy efficiency/storage and development of materials.
CEA-Liten is involved in several aspects of the NIMPHEA project and will support the development of high-temperature MEAs by improving their description and understanding. In particular, CEA-Liten is involved in the development of electrodes and will carry out nanostructural characterisation of materials and components, focusing on the catalyst/electrolyte interface.
In addition, CEA-Liten will carry out electrochemical characterisations which will be analysed using the PEMFC HT MEA models developed in the project in order to quantify the most limiting phenomena. Once calibrated, the models will also be used to improve the design of the stack’s bipolar plate.
“This project is a real opportunity for CEA to strengthen and extend its expertise in the field of high-temperature PEMFCs to meet the challenges of aviation’s demanding requirements while contributing to its decarbonisation.”
Arnaud Morin, Senior scientist, Physical chemistry and Electrochemistry
Meet the team:
Arnaud Morin: Senior scientist, Physical chemistry and electrochemistry
Pascal Schott: Modelling and simulation researcher for electrochemical systems
Wassim Fatnassi: Modelling and simulation researcher for PEMFC
Manon Prioux: Researcher in physical-chemistry, MEA development and electrochemical characterisations
Laure Guetaz: Researcher in microstructural characterisations, expert in electron microscopy
Benoit Gouze: Researcher in physical-chemistry
