Fuel Cells with Lower Operating Temps Via Scandium Dopants and Vastly Expanded Lifespans Via Ultrafine Platinum Nanoparticles in Graphene Pockets as Catalysts Offer Significant Benefits: Long-Haul Trucking Can Benefit

     When considering low-emissions long-haul trucking, there are several advantages of hydrogen fuel cells compared to lithium battery power. One important one is that fuel cells are much lighter, up to eight times, than conventional battery tech. This means that tires will wear much more slowly. Faster fueling times are another advantage.

     Fuel cells convert chemical energy into electricity, similar to battery cells. They do this very efficiently. However, they operate at high temperatures, which can cause problems.

     Scandium, as a dopant, in combination with other materials, is showing promise that it can lead to lower operating temperatures in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Scandium-enhanced SOFCs have already succeeded in reducing operating temperatures from 900 °C to 600-800 °C. The new discovery with dopants allows them to potentially cut that to as low as 300 °C, which will have many benefits. Catalyst degradation has been an ongoing issue for fuel cells, but new research suggests that those problems will soon be overcome in a big way, and fuel cells will be enabled with ultra-long lifespans. Platinum alloy catalysts have been the norm, but can degrade faster than desired and lose efficiency through time. New research shows that catalysts made from ultrafine platinum nanoparticles in graphene pockets can eliminate nearly all of that degradability, with simulations suggesting that they can cycle for 200,000 hours. That is about 23 years if it were cycling 24 hours a day!

 

Scandium Dopants Add to Scandium’s SOFC Benefits

     Scandium is a very sought-after rare earth element. Unfortunately, the current supply of it, along with the processing/refining capacity of it, is just about 100% controlled by China. That keeps its price up for others but also down since China heavily subsidizes its REE sector. There are new sources being developed in the U.S. in mining projects, but I am unsure about processing. Scandium has been key in reducing the operating temperatures of SOFCs from 900 deg C to 600-800 deg C, and new research suggests that adding Scandium as a dopant along with certain other materials can reduce efficient operating temperatures down to 300 deg C. This would be a very good improvement. 

     Below are two lists of previous improvements afforded by scandium in SOFCs.

     The new research at Kyushu University in Japan shows that cubic perovskite oxides with heavy scandium doping can overcome limitations caused by proton trapping. The materials with perovskite structures utilized are barium stannate (BaSnO3) and barium titanate (BaTiO3), and when scandium is substituted become BaSn0.3Sc0.7O3–δ and BaTi0.2Sc0.8O3–δ. The materials were found to be chemically stable at 300 deg C, where the scandium can yield the benefits of lowering SOFC operating temperature. Basically, the experiments show that the required proton conductivity can be achieved at 300 deg C with the scandium dopants added to the materials. The researchers expect that the development of low-cost, low-temperature SOFCs will greatly accelerate the practical application of these devices. Lower materials costs are a big factor and could make consumer-level SOFC devices affordable.

     According to TechXplore:

"Structural analysis and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the Sc atoms link their surrounding oxygens to form a 'ScO₆ highway,' along which protons travel with an unusually low migration barrier. This pathway is both wide and softly vibrating, which prevents the proton-trapping that normally plagues heavily doped oxides," explains Yamazaki. "Lattice-dynamics data further revealed that BaSnO₃ and BaTiO₃ are intrinsically 'softer' than conventional SOFC materials, letting them absorb far more Sc than previously assumed."

"Beyond fuel cells, the same principle can be applied to other technologies, such as low-temperature electrolyzers, hydrogen pumps, and reactors that convert CO₂ into valuable chemicals, thereby multiplying the impact of decarbonization. Our work transforms a long-standing scientific paradox into a practical solution, bringing affordable hydrogen power closer to everyday life," concludes Yamazaki.

     Below are the paper's abstract and a figure from it.

 

 

Ultrafine Platinum Nanoparticles in Graphene Pockets as Catalysts

     New research at UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering, led by engineering professor Yu Huang, suggests that a 200,000-hour cycling life can be achieved for SOFCs by making a new kind of catalyst for the SOFC chemical reaction. Currently, platinum alloys are used as catalysts. In 2024, this team announced that they had developed a new catalyst that could double the DOE’s target for fuel cell lifespan of 8,000 hours or 150,000 miles for an SOFC hydrogen vehicle. The research suggested they could reach 15,000 hours or nearly 300,000 miles. That research involved using cobalt-oxide molecules inside shells of platinum atoms. Now, a much greater potential improvement has been announced. The new design utilizes pure platinum, a graphene-protective layer, and porous carbon support. This new design overcomes the DOE’s target for 2050 by seven times. The result is that the new catalyst can achieve the same power as lithium-ion batteries at just one-eighth the weight. This result can be especially relevant for heavy-duty vehicles such as long-haul trucks. It can also mitigate the problem of accelerated tire wear in battery EVs. The graphene-encased nanoparticles were then nested inside the porous structure of Ketjenblack, a powdery carbon material that is very pure and has enhanced conductivity.   

“Heavy-duty fuel cell systems must withstand harsh operating conditions over long periods, making durability a key challenge,” said Huang, who holds the Traugott and Dorothea Frederking Endowed Chair at UCLA Samueli. “Our pure platinum catalyst, enhanced with a graphene-based protection strategy, overcomes the shortcomings of conventional platinum alloys by preventing the leaching of alloying elements. This innovation ensures that the catalyst remains active and robust, even under the demanding conditions typical of long-haul applications.”

     The research involved stress-testing and simulations to arrive at the 200,000-hour number and showed a power loss after that simulated time period of less than 1.1%. Below are the abstract of the paper and a depiction of the new catalyst structure.

 

    

 

References:

 

U.S. hydrogen car boasts fuel cell life of 200,000 hours. Alexander Clark. Morning Overview. September 4, 2025. U.S. hydrogen car boasts fuel cell life of 200,000 hours

Breakthrough US hydrogen fuel cell promises 200,000-hour life with minimal power loss. The new catalyst lost less than 1.1 percent power after 90,000 test cycles, far surpassing the U.S. Department of Energy’s 30,000-hour target. Georgina Jedikovska. Interesting Engineering. April 29, 2025. US’ new hydrogen fuel cell shows 1.1% power loss after 90,000 cycles

UCLA Breakthrough Extends Fuel Cell Lifespan Beyond 200,000 Hours, Paving the Way for Clean Long-Haul Trucking. UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. April 25, 2025. UCLA Breakthrough Extends Fuel Cell Lifespan Beyond 200,000 Hours, Paving the Way for Clean Long-Haul Trucking | UCLA Samueli School Of Engineering

Pt catalyst protected by graphene nanopockets enables lifetimes of over 200,000 h for heavy-duty fuel cell applications. Zeyan Liu, Bosi Peng, Yu-Han Joseph Tsai, Ao Zhang, Mingjie Xu, Wenjie Zang, XingXu Yan, Li Xing, Xiaoqing Pan, Xiangfeng Duan & Yu Huang. Nature Nanotechnology. Volume 20, pages 807–814. March 24, 2025. Pt catalyst protected by graphene nanopockets enables lifetimes of over 200,000 h for heavy-duty fuel cell applications | Nature Nanotechnology

Ketjenblack EC-600JD. Product Line Polymer additives. Nouryon. Ketjenblack EC-600JD Electroconductive carbon black

Scandium superhighway paves way for low-temperature hydrogen fuel cells. Science X staff. Tech Xplore. August 8, 2025. Scandium superhighway paves way for low-temperature hydrogen fuel cells

Mitigating proton trapping in cubic perovskite oxides via ScO6 octahedral networks. Kota Tsujikawa, Junji Hyodo, Susumu Fujii, Kazuki Takahashi, Yuto Tomita, Nai Shi, Yasukazu Murakami, Shusuke Kasamatsu & Yoshihiro Yamazaki. Nature Materials. August 8, 2025. Mitigating proton trapping in cubic perovskite oxides via ScO6 octahedral networks | Nature Materials

UCLA-Led Research Doubles DOE Fuel Cell Lifetime Target with New Catalyst Material. UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. August 14, 2024. UCLA-Led Research Doubles DOE Fuel Cell Lifetime Target with New Catalyst Material | UCLA Samueli School Of Engineering

USE OF SCANDIUM IN SOFCs. Suniway. SUNIWAY_Scandium_SOFC.pdf

Scandium Oxide: Key Material for Next-Generation Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). Stanford Advanced Materials. Scandium Oxide: Key Material for Next-Generation Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) | Scandium               `