James L. Young Email and Phone Number

Low-temperature electrolysis researchPrinciple Investigator (PI) of Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) project, “Surface modified electrolyzer components for corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity”H2NEW Consortium task lead: H2NEW is a DOE-funded 5-year, $10M/year consortium conducting R&D to enable large-scale manufacturing of affordable water electrolyzers. I lead the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) performance ex-situ characterization taskInternational Energy Agency (IEA) Annex 30: Electrolysis: Benchmarking and protocol harmonization to establish a common basis to unite global research effortsSeed Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project: Developed ex-situ capability for measuring electronic and ionic conductivity of electrode catalyst layersFuel cell research - Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck (M2FCT) ConsortiumM2FCT is a DOE-funded 5-year, $10M/year consortium focusing on polymer electrolyte fuel cell heavy-duty vehicle MEAs to increase their lifetime 4-5x while retaining high efficiency. I led execution of a common MEA round robin including MEA synthesis and protocol development. I am currently applying in-situ thermography to study the impacts of electrode cracking on MEA durability.Electrochemical ammonia synthesis (PI) – awarded LDRD projectLDRDs are highly competitive (<10% funded), internal National Laboratory projects on high-risk, innovative projects with great promise. This project will develop capabilities for and create renewable ammonia electrochemically, as an alternative to carbon-intense Haber-Bosch process.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen productionAchieved world record 16.4% solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency by developing an innovative III-V device architecture and surface engineering, published as first author in Nature EnergyDeveloped STH efficiency measurement protocol and validation that has improved measurement reliability and comparability in the PEC community.