Browsing by Subject "Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy"

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    Lugar Center for Renewable Energy, Alkaline Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2011-04-08) Chen, Rongrong
    The U.S. Army needs new reliable, long lasting, and lightweight power sources suitable for its future soldiers. A new technology, alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AAEMFCs) developed by the researchers at the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy, has the potential to be an advanced power source for combat applications. AAEMFCs have several advantages over current existing proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, e.g. non-Pt catalysts with good methanol/ethanol tolerance can be used in the cathodes of the AAEMFCs. Concentrated liquid fuels, such as methanol, ethanol, or ethylene glycol, can be used in the AAEMFCs and have the potential of producing higher power capacity and better durability than the direct alcohol fuel cells based on PEMs. However, several technical barriers need to be overcome for applying this technology for future soldiers. The objective of our research effort is to investigate solutions to these technical challenges, which include developing novel AAEMs with ionic conductivity comparable to the PEMs; novel non-Pt catalysts for anode and cathode and ionomers for elctrochemcial interfaces of electrodes.
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    Research at the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Chen, Rongrong; Goebl, Mark; Cline, Kyle
    The Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy was established at IUPUI in March of 2007. The Center is a focal point for scientific research on renewable energy technologies, as well as policy, law and social issues related to energy. The Center strives to be a leader in many fields of renewable energy and has already proved itself in the areas of fuel cell and battery research and bio-fuels research. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, faculty and graduate students work on finding fuel cell technologies that are more efficient and affordable. Faculty and graduate student research in the School of Medicine, in conjunction with the Lugar Center, has led to the development of a new type of yeast that will improve the production of ethanol. The Lugar Center will continue to promote renewable energy applications through teaching, learning, civic engagement, and synergistic partnerships with industry, government labs and local communities.