Cathode architecture has the potential to address many of the well-known challenges in electrically rechargeable zinc-air batteries

Kardelen Yıldız sheds light on how innovative cathode architectures are helping overcome existing challenges in ZAB technology and advancing the field toward commercial viability.

05 November 2024

In this latest interview, we sit down with Kardelen Yıldız, an R&D engineer at ADVENST, a company at the forefront of energy storage solutions. ADVENST is actively contributing to the HIPERZAB project, a European initiative focused on developing advanced, electrically rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs). In this conversation, Kardelen sheds light on how innovative cathode architectures are helping overcome existing challenges in ZAB technology and advancing the field toward commercial viability.

 

How can cathode architecture help overcome the current challenges?

“There are several well-known challenges for electrically rechargeable ZABs, including sluggish kinetics in both the Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) and Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER), stability issues with the zinc electrode (such as corrosion, shape changes, and dendrite formation), problems at the electrode/electrolyte interface, and water management. A cutting-edge cathode design that leverages recent breakthroughs in materials science and manufacturing techniques has the potential to address many of these issues.”

What innovations is ADVENST bringing to HIPERZAB’s cathode design?

“The cathode development efforts in HIPERZAB are a collaboration among ADVENST, DLR, IREC, and CIC energiGUNE. Our novel cathode architecture incorporates two groundbreaking concepts that have not been explored or combined in a rechargeable ZAB before. First, we’re developing a truly bifunctional, cost-effective, and critical raw materials (CRM)-free catalyst based on High Entropy Oxide (HEO) materials. These materials, with their unique configurational entropy, offer significant potential for catalysis. Second, we’re utilizing low-cost, highly oxygen-selective, thin-film Gas Diffusion Layers (GDLs) with near-zero water vapor transmission. This innovation is key for controlling water levels during battery cycling, preventing cathode flooding, and minimizing CO2 crossover.”

 

As Kardelen Yıldız explains, this innovative cathode architecture is essential to tackling the technical barriers that currently limit zinc-air battery performance. The combination of HEO-based catalysts and oxygen-selective GDLs could significantly enhance ZAB efficiency and durability. The HIPERZAB project marks a pivotal step toward making zinc-air batteries commercially viable, with ADVENST and its partners leading the charge in sustainable energy storage technology.

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