Developing effective PGM-free electrocatalysts at an accelerated pace requires a systematic approach in which potential catalysts are tested rapidly and comprehensively using high-throughput, combinatorial methods that are guided both by computational studies and fundamental knowledge of electrocatalysis and materials science.

By pooling their expertise, ElectroCat’s national laboratory partners (co-led by Argonne National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, with partners Oak Ridge National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory) will advance the tools needed to model, characterize, and optimize PGM-free catalysts and electrode structures to the point that they are easily applied to a broad range of catalyst systems and set a standard for rapid material analysis.

ElectroCat's Leadership

The ElectroCat leadership consists of a laboratory team with consortium co-leaders from Argonne and Los Alamos National Laboratories, with oversight from a management team at the U.S. Department of Energy; together with Steering Committee partners from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

U.S. Department of Energy Representatives

Dimitrios Papageorgopoulos

Dimitrios Papageorgopoulos

Program Manager, Fuel Cells
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)
U.S. Department of Energy

David Peterson

David Peterson

Program Manager, Hydrogen Production
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)
U.S. Department of Energy

Steering Committee Role

The ElectroCat Steering Committee identifies and incorporates unique and relevant national laboratory capabilities into the Consortium, develops a coordination service to facilitate and streamline industry access to the Consortium, and oversees the management of the data that results from ElectroCat and collaborators.

Derek Vigil-Fowler

Derek Vigil-Fowler

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

David Cullen

David Cullen

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Accelerating advanced materials development, from discovery through deployment, has the potential to revolutionize whole industries and is critical for the United States to compete globally in manufacturing in the 21st century. However, today only a small fraction of materials innovations make it to widespread commercialization. The goal of EMN is to dramatically decrease the time-to-market for advanced materials that are critical to manufacturing many clean energy technologies, enabling manufacturers of all sizes to develop and deliver innovative, made-in-America products to the world market.

Through targeted, national lab-led consortia, EMN will leverage more than $40 million in federal funding in 2016 to facilitate industry’s access to the unique scientific and technical resources at DOE’s national labs in high performance computing, synthesis and characterization of new materials, and high-impact experimentation. Each EMN consortium will bring together national labs, industry, and academia to focus on specific classes of materials aligned with industry’s most pressing challenges related to materials for clean energy technologies. Together, the EMN consortia will form a network of advanced materials R&D capabilities and resources that will support the Administration’s commitment to revitalizing American manufacturing and maintaining a competitive edge in the clean energy economy. Learn more.