Neutrons supercharge fuel cell research

Researchers at Irig recently co-authored a literature review on the growing use of neutron techniques in research on new energy technologies. The authors underscore the rapidly changing landscape, especially when it comes to fuel cells. Protons and hydrogen form the pillars of fuel cell technologies, and neutrons happen to be very sensitive to both.
For research, this means that quasi-elastic neutron scattering can be used to characterize ion dynamics, for example, and that neutron imaging can be used to observe batteries during operation to better understand the phenomena behind aging. Neutron techniques aren’t new to Irig. The lab has published many papers on research using these advanced techniques and has developed a high level of expertise. Irig’s researchers are also experts at building electrochemical cells for research and processing complex data.

Contact: sandrine.lyonnard@cea.fr