German research organisation Fraunhofer is leading a consortium to develop a closed-loop recycling concept specifically for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells.
The ‘BreCycle’ project, comprising Fraunhofer, Proton Motor Fuel Cell, MAIREC Edelmetallgesellschaft, Electrocycling and KLEIN Anlagenbau, aims to develop a sustainable process for the processing of fuel cells, with which high-quality material fractions can be generated, especially from the electrode coating, and the polymer membrane can be separated.
The valuable precious metals such as platinum and ruthenium are particularly important for the recycling market of fuel cells.
General recycling processes for precious metals that are currently in use are also designed for these metals, in which polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are currently largely processed.
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