THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS (AICHE) WILL LEAD A CONSORTIUM THAT INCLUDES INDUSTRY LEADING FUEL CELL/ELECTROLYZER/CATALYST/IONOMER/ANALYSIS INDUSTRY PARTNERS, NATIONAL LABORATORIES, AND UNIVERSITIES. THE EFFORT WILL DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY RELEVANT TO CIRCULAR RECYCLING FOR THE H2 ECONOMY (H2CIRC) TO ADDRESS END-OF-LIFE (EOL) AND CRITICAL SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES FOR LOW TEMPERATURE PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE (PEM) FUEL CELLS AND ELECTROLYZERS (FC/EL) WITH THE GOAL OF SUSTAINABLY RECOVERING AND RECYCLING CATALYSTS, MEMBRANES, IONOMERS, CARBON, AND OTHER COMPONENTS AS DEPICTED IN FIGURE A.1, WITH THE RECOVERY GOALS LISTED IN TABLE A.1. THE RECOVERY OF THESE MATERIALS IS CRITICAL, AND IT MUST BE PERFORMED IN A MANNER THAT LIMITS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS (GHG) AND OTHER HARMFUL POLLUTANTS, OTHERWISE THE BENEFITS OF THE H2 ECONOMY WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY DIMINISHED. ADDITIONALLY, WHILE DEVELOPING THE TECHNOLOGY CRITICAL FOR PEM FC/EL RECYCLABILITY, THE CONSORTIUM WILL INTEGRATE KEY OVERARCHING EFFORTS IN DIVERSITY/INCLUSION, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT/TRAINING, TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS (TEA), AND LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS (LCA), AS HIGHLIGHTED IN THE OUTER RING OF FIGURE A.1. H2CIRC BRINGS TOGETHER A STRONG TEAM OF EXPERTS FROM INDUSTRY, NATIONAL LABS, AND ACADEMIA WITH DEEP TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE IN LOW-TEMPERATURE PEM FC/ELS. THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 16 MEMBERS, INCLUDING 8 INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS, 4 UNIVERSITIES, 3 NATIONAL LABS, AND ONE NON-PROFIT. THE BREADTH AND EXPERTISE OF THESE PARTNERS ENABLES MEMBERSHIP TO SPAN THE ENTIRE VALUE CHAIN OF PEM FC/ELS, BUSINESS SIZE (INCLUDING SMALL/MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES, SMES), AND GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS. THE COLLABORATIVE STRENGTHS OF THE TEAM AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CRITICAL MATERIAL NEEDS/QUALITIES WILL ALLOW THE H2CIRC CONSORTIUM TO DRIVE THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIRCULAR RECYCLING TO ADDRESS EOL AND SUPPLY CHALLENGES WITH THE GOAL TO SUSTAINABLY RECOVER AND RECYCLE CATALYSTS, IONOMERS, AND OTHER COMPONENTS FOR SECOND USE OR REMANUFACTURE. ADDITIONALLY, COMMUNITY OUTREACH IS IMPORTANT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM AS IT WILL HELP TO ATTRACT AND DEVELOP/EDUCATE A WORKFORCE AND INFORM THE PUBLIC AS TO ITS IMPORTANCE. THE CONSORTIUM RECOVERY AND REUSE GOALS FOR EACH MEA COMPONENT ARE 95% FOR IR, 99% FOR PT, 75% FOR THE IONOMER, AND 70% FOR CARBON. TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS THE CONSORTIUM WILL PURSUE FOUR INDEPENDENT MEA RECYCLE PATHWAYS THAT WILL MINIMIZE RISK, DEVELOP ROBUST RECYCLING OPTIONS, AND ALLOW THE MEMBERS TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN IP. CRITICALLY, THE RECYCLING PATHWAYS AIM TO DEVELOP A PROCESS THAT MAINTAINS THE HIGH LEVELS OF RECOVERY OF THE METALS, BUT ALSO ALLOWS THE IONOMER TO BE RECYCLED/RE-USED WITH CARBON RECOVERY GOALS BEING TERTIARY. TO BE INDUSTRIALLY RELEVANT, THE METHODS DEVELOPED WITHIN THE RECYCLE STREAM MUST BE SCALABLE SUCH THAT THE SPEED OF RECYCLING CAN OCCUR AT RATES COMMENSURATE WITH MANUFACTURING. TO ACHIEVE THIS RATE, IT IS NECESSARY TO ALSO DEVELOP A DISASSEMBLY PROCESS THAT IS EXPEDIENT, AND CONSEQUENTLY, A ROBOTIC/AUTOMATED DISASSEMBLY APPROACH WILL BE PURSUED THAT WILL BE BROADLY USEFUL ACROSS INDUSTRY. FINALLY, THE CONSORTIUM AIMS TO MINIMIZE GHG EMISSIONS BY INVESTIGATING GREEN PATHWAYS, AND THUS TEA AND LCA WILL BE DEPLOYED THROUGHOUT. THIS EFFORT IS NOT AN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.