The competition of young innovators was held in five scientific areas: green technologies for the chemical industry, green technologies for the food industry, green technologies for the agricultural industry, and AI technologies. The winner was also determined in the special nomination "Palladium in Future technologies", established by Norilsk Nickel.
Projects from 6 BRICS countries – Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa, the UAE and Egypt - took part in the special nomination.
The winner of the nomination was a project from China dedicated to the development and creation of palladium-containing catalysts for hydrogen-air fuel cells as key devices of hydrogen energy. Such fuel cells convert hydrogen gas into electrical energy.
The author of the work, Xin Cai, an innovator at Tongji University, received physical samples of palladium containing nano-powders - a new catalyst with properties superior to commercial analogues. The use of such catalysts in hydrogen energy will make the fuel cell more efficient and bring closer the time when hydrogen energy will become publicly available.
The jury highly appreciated the innovative approach to the use of palladium, the results of deep fundamental study, and the contestant's ability to design materials at the nanoscale using controlled synthesis. An additional advantage of the project was the availability of developed physical samples of palladium containing nano-powders on various media.
"Norilsk Nickel considers the support of scientific and technological progress, the development of innovative solutions and the promotion of sustainable development as an integral part of its strategy. We are confident that palladium plays a key role in creating technologies of the future that will help solve urgent problems for the transition to a more environmentally friendly and advanced economy. The victory of the project from China confirms the importance of scientific dialogue between the countries and the need for joint search for solutions for a sustainable future," said Dmitry Izotov, head of the Norilsk Nickel Palladium Technology Center.
The competition of young innovators of the BRICS countries is held to strengthen international cooperation in science and technology, stimulate the exchange of experience and promote promising solutions of high socio-economic importance.
