2023 Fall Wulff Lecture

Title
Materials Innovations to the Rescue: Delivering ‘Green’ Hydrogen using Electrochemical Cells Built on Superprotonic Conductors

Abstract
Green hydrogen stands to reshape how our society meets its energy needs. It’s made without emitting greenhouse gases by a process called water electrolysis, which breaks H2O into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen can be stored for a long time and used in fuel cells to generate electricity without pollution.

But transporting hydrogen is challenging. One solution is to use ammonia, a liquid that can carry and deliver hydrogen without releasing carbon.

Innovative electrochemical cells, battery-like devices, are making this possible. They convert ammonia into ultra-pure hydrogen as required for fuel cells. This advance is a promising step toward exploiting the potential of hydrogen for delivering carbon-free energy.


Bio
Sossina M. Haile is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University, a position she assumed in 2015 after serving 18 years on the faculty at the California Institute of Technology. She earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992. Haile’s research broadly encompasses materials, especially oxides, for sustainable electrochemical energy technologies. Among her many awards, in 2008 Haile received an American Competitiveness and Innovation Fellowship from the U.S. National Science Foundation. In 2010, she received the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists. In 2012, she was awarded the International Ceramics Prize by the World Academy of Ceramics. In 2020, she received the Turnbull Award from the Materials Research Society. She is a fellow of the Materials Research Society, the American Ceramics Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the African Academy of Sciences, and the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences. She also serves on the editorial boards of Joule and MRS Energy and Sustainability.

About the Wulff Lecture
The Wulff Lecture is an introductory, general audience, entertaining lecture that aims to educate, inspire, and encourage MIT undergraduates to take up study of materials science and engineering and related fields.