Epsilon Xline – Optimize Yield R2R Production By On-Product Elemental Insights

Presented by Dr. Michel Zoontjes, Malvern Panalytical

Towards a sustainable future hydrogen will become an important molecule to store the energy made by sustainable energy sources. Further it will be essential for future synthetic chemicals. To be able to use green energy widely, reducing the costs of electrolysers and fuel cells is key to make it an alternative to other energy carriers. The most valuable part of fuel cells and electrolysers based on a PEMFC concept, is the catalytic coated membrane in the centre of the device.

R2R production is used to coat the selected catalysts on each site of a proton exchange membrane. These catalysts normally contain high concentrations of platinum and iridium, which are costly and need to be used as efficient as possible. Having control on the final deposition is key to assure the quality of each run. To prevent a reduced performance or used to much material in-line analysis enables control to accomplish the right catalyst loading on the membrane.

The Epsilon Xline is developed to provide on product inspection in coating lines to control the elemental loading in real-time. In this contribution we will discuss the possibilities and capabilities of the Epsilon Xline and will show first results. Also, further capabilities outside the fuel cell market will be discussed.