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Polymers4Hydrogen - Designed Polymers and their composites for high pressure environments
Projektleitung
	Dr.-Ing. Geraldine Theiler BAM - 9.5 Tribologie und Verschleißschutz E-Mail: Geraldine.Theiler@bam.de
Förderstruktur
	Sonstiges/Internationales - Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft mbH (FFG)
Projektbeginn
	01.01.2020
Projektende
	31.12.2023
Projektart
	Realisierte Antragsforschung
Themen-/Aktivitätsfeld
	THEMENFELD Analytical Sciences, * Oberflächen- und Grenzflächenanalytik, THEMENFELD Energie, * Erneuerbare Energien
Abstract
	According to the COMET Center’s vision, Polymers4Hydrogen will focus on the establishment of long-term research cooperation between leading, internationally operating, highly science-oriented universities and industry partners to develop new competences for tomorrow’s technology. Within this cooperation, Austria’s position as a research location will be strengthened by the international recognition that comes with the cooperation with international universities and the strong focus on actively supporting intersectoral mobility of researchers at other scientific institutes (incoming & outgoing). This research cooperation, which encompasses the active involvement of, and discussion with, global players in the polymer industry, will trigger new research impulses and establish new promising and emerging fields, ultimately strengthening Austria’s position as a business location. Involving internationally renowned scientists, organizations and companies will increase visibility in terms of international competition based on the competitiveness of scientific research and industry and the high quality of cooperative research. The COMET-Module program line will support this vision to conduct high-risk research at a high international level far beyond the state of the art in a future-oriented field, which has the potential to transform our energy infrastructure into a system based on renewable energy sources. Under Polymers4Hydrogen, new scientific fields will be opened up and new impulses generated to establish a new research field of excellence on polymers used under high pressure applications. In this area especially, a unique selling proposition will be generated for the COMET Center. Establishing this field of excellence will connect international Scientific Partners, through the recognition enjoyed by the COMET Center as being an expert in an emerging technology, and will enhance cooperation with new industrial partners. This vision is based on the knowledge already successfully developed within the past years in polymer science and engineering, with the aim being to go much deeper into fundamental research, thus promoting a future field of excellence for the COMET Center. This field of excellence will be driven by the development of new promising and emerging approaches towards polymers for high pressure applications, which will help to initiate and develop new products, processes and innovations for future markets. With the world population’s carbon footprint in mind, the European Union plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% (compared to 1990s levels) by 2050 [1,2]. Only through a profound change of our fossil-fuels-based traffic and transport system will it be possible to take up this challenge. Hydrogen, converted in fuel cells, could have promising potentials as a new energy source, given that its specific energy (energy per unit mass) is three times higher than that of petroleum. Opening up this new field requires multimaterial approaches, as well as the development of (i) designed polymers and sealing systems to achieve (ii) operational safety and (iii) reasonable usability for high-pressure gas environments. Polymers4Hydrogen will include (i) the development of designed polymers, which can be used under harsh environments and for energy storage solutions, as well as (ii) the ensuring of operational safety by monitoring H2 permeation and emission, using H2-responsive polymers, and (iii) guaranteed reliable material performance using highly specific testing methods, such as the characterization of rapid gas decompression performance. Finally, the knowledge gained will have a strong impact on sectors like transport, distribution and storage of energy (e.g. cars, busses, trains, stationary tanks). Moreover, the production of H2 through electrolysis and storage of the gas in high-pressure vessels will facilitate the implementation and supply of renewable energies in tomorrow’s energy infrastructure. Polymers4Hydrogen will constitute an interdisciplinary approach, covering (i) polymer chemistry, (ii) polymer processing, (iii) polymer characterization and (iv) the simulation of material behavior. This will finally lead to an understanding of the unique and versatile characteristics of polymers at pressures up to 1,000 bar. Given its research focus on an emerging research topic, covering both basic technology research and proof of feasibility, the COMET-Module program line would be a perfect fit for the forward-looking and high-risk oriented Polymers4Hydrogen. The COMET-Module Polymers4Hydrogen will enable a strengthening of the research cooperation with other European top universities, e.g. the University of Tampere. This will enhance, on the one hand, the development of a promising field for the future, covering a broad range from energy supply for public transport to future mobility to energy distribution. On the other hand, a pivotal added value will be achieved, generating a unique selling proposition in the understanding and characterization of polymer behavior for high-pressure environments, and fostering the role of the COMET Center as an Austrian Center of Excellence for polymer science. The cooperation between material scientists and engineers along the value chain bridges the gap between polymer science and polymer engineering, as it combines fundamental research and application-directed research and relies on continuous interaction between researchers from academia with experts from industry, which holds a high potential for innovation at a later stage.