Los Alamos researcher receives Electrochemical Society award for sustainable energy technology

Yu Seung Kim, materials scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, has been honored by the Electrochemical Society (ECS) for his significant contributions to fuel cell innovation. Kim received the Energy Technology Division Walter van Schalkwijk Award in Sustainable Energy Technology. His research, validated through both theoretical and experimental studies, has advanced the performance of high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cells.

“The recognition affirms Yu Seung’s leading role in advancing fuel cell membrane technology, particularly in high-temperature PEM fuel cells,” said Ellen Cerreta, associate Laboratory director for Physical Sciences at Los Alamos. “His cutting-edge research is helping to shape the Department of Energy’s fuel cell research and development roadmap, with commercial applications already making a real-world impact.”

The ECS established this award in 2021 to acknowledge groundbreaking work by researchers, academics and entrepreneurs in sustainable energy technologies. Kim is the first recipient from a national laboratory.

Kim’s advancements in HT-PEM fuel cells allow the cells to operate efficiently at elevated temperatures, removing the need for bulky radiators and air intakes. His team’s development of polymer electrolytes allows enhancing fuel cells’ power density by 60% while showing minimal degradation over conventional HT-PEM fuel cells.

Among Kim’s notable projects are funding by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy to develop fuel cells that function between 100 and 230 degrees Celsius without water. His work has also reached the commercial sector with support from the DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office “L’Innovator” program, which helped Advent Technologies establish a new factory in Massachusetts to manufacture membrane electrode assemblies for fuel cells. Kim, the author of approximately 130 peer-reviewed papers with over 24,000 citations, was recognized as Los Alamos’ Inventor of the Year by Battelle last year and holds 30 patents or patent applications.

Kim joined Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2003 following a postdoctoral fellowship at Virginia Tech. Kim earned his doctoral degree in chemical engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and his bachelor’s degree from Korea University.

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