A novel amphiphilic co-polymer with enhanced anion transport performance is being successfully developed at Stanford University. The design improves the ionic conductivities of Alkaline Exchange Membranes Fuel Cells (AEMFC). Although the design is not yet optimized a 50% increase over AEMFC\\\'s baseline material of quaternary ammonium polysulfone membrane was achieved in performance metrics that include in-plane conductivity and peak power density. The design maintains all of the benefits typical of AEMFC such as using inexpensive metal catalysts in a low acidic environment. With further refinement the invention has the potential to make AEMFC a viable alternative to Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. The design is also useful for biological water treatment and food processing applications. Stage of Research: Successfully incorporated into prototype fuel cell/water electrolyzer device
1) 50% increase in performance metrics of AEMFC baseline material 2) Lower costs - enables use of inexpensive metals such a iron cobalt and nickle (non noble metals) 3) Higher catalyst durability 4) Higher performance (peak power density) than current commercial state-of-the-art \"Fumatech FAA-3\"" when using non-precious Manganese Oxide catalyst at cathode"