A spin out from the University of St Andrews. Ceimig manufacture fine chemicals including catalysts. One of the products that they sell is a Platinum based catalyst for use in PEM fuel cells. The product currently has several issues (i) the platinum catalyst is embedded on carbon and degrades in operation; (ii) the catalyst surface area can be improved for better performance and (ii) the catalyst is mobile within the electrochemical cell and can cause short circuiting in the cell.
An ETP supported project with the University of St Andrews has allowed the company to look at the catalyst and the support material. Through two analytical techniques, Ceimig has been able to develop a mechanism of producing a more stable catalyst with a good surface area.
While further work is required to address all the issues, Ceimig are in a stronger position to develop and market their new product.