Advent Technologies’ mission is to become the leading provider of high-temperature proton exchange membranes (“HT-PEM”) and HT-PEM based membrane electrode assemblies (“MEA”), which are critical components used in fuel cells, and other electrochemistry applications such as electrolyzers, flow batteries, and IoT sensors.
Advent’s principal focus is on the fuel cell market, and Advent’s goal is to use its products and technology to address pressing global climate needs. In order to meet the targets established in the Paris Climate Accord, which seek to mitigate climate change and maintain global temperature less than 1.5-2.0°C above pre-industrial levels, the global community will need to hasten adoption of technologies that reduce or eliminate emissions of carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse gasses. Advent believes that fuel cells will be a key component of the future energy generation platform given that:
- Fuel cells generate electricity from hydrogen-based fuels, thereby substantially reducing, if not virtually eliminating, emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants generated by the combustion process in Internal Combustion Engines.
- Fuel cells utilize fuels with extremely high energy density relative to lithium-ion batteries and other battery technology (according to ARPA-E, hydrogen contains 33,304 Wh/kg while lithium-ion batteries carry only about 240Wh/kg). This makes fuel cells an ideal technology for transportation and off-grid energy generation applications where battery technology faces limitations with lifespan, weight and recharge time.
Within the fuel cell market, Advent believes its products have significant advantages relative to low-temperature proton exchange membrane, which its competitors have focused their development on. These benefits of Advent’s HT-PEMs relative to LT-PEMs include:
- Advent has developed its products under the principle of “Any Fuel, Anywhere, which can be distilled into the two components:
- Any Fuel: While LT-PEMs require high-purity hydrogen to operate, HT-PEMs can utilize low cost and abundant hydrogen-carrier fuels, including methanol, natural gas, ammonia, and renewable biofuels. The infrastructure required for a high-purity hydrogen economy is immense, estimated at approximately $15 trillion dollars globally, based on an extrapolation of Joule published market study of high-purity hydrogen infrastructure in China. In contrast, many of the hydrogen-carrier fuels can use existing or in-development infrastructure.
- Anywhere: Advent’s HT-PEMs have the ability to operate in virtually any practical conditions, including a wide range of external temperatures (-20oC to +55oC) and in humid or polluted environments. LT-PEMs, on the other hand, struggle in the heat and can be damaged by dry climates or pollution. The relative durability of Advent’s products in a range of environments also provides a longer life of operation relative to LT-PEMs.