Nafion® Tubing Humidification System for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Humidity and temperature have an essential influence on PEM fuel cell system performance. The water content within the polymeric membrane is important for enhancing proton conduction and achieving high efficiency of the system. The combination of non-stationary operation requests and the variability of environment conditions poses an important challenge to maintaining optimal membrane hydration. This paper presents a humidification and thermal control system, to prevent the membrane from drying. The main characteristics of such a device are small size and weight, compactness and robustness, easy implementation on commercial fuel cell, and low power consumption. In particular, the NTHS method was studied in a theoretical approach, tested and optimized in a laboratory and finally applied to a PEMFC of 1 kW that supplied energy for the prototype vehicle IDRA at the Shell Eco-Marathon competition. Using a specific electronic board, which controls several variables and decides the optimal reaction air flow rate, the NTHS was managed. Furthermore, the effects of membrane drying and electrode flooding were presented.

Download Full-text

Lightweight PEM Fuel Cell Stack for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

ASME 2021 Heat Transfer Summer Conference ◽

10.1115/ht2021-62626 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jinmyun Jo ◽

Xiaoyu Zhang ◽

Ali Ansari

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Internal Combustion Engines ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽

Test System ◽

Maximum Power ◽

Bipolar Plates ◽

Fuel Cell Stack ◽

Electrolyte Membrane ◽

Future Work

Abstract Fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts fuel into electricity. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been used for ground transportation due to its high efficiency and zero carbon emission. When it comes to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), PEMFCs can support much longer flight endurance than internal combustion engines and batteries do. However, a lightweight PEMFC stack is required in order to carry enough payload for UAVs. In this research, a lightweight fuel cell stack was developed and fabricated based on the Horizon fuel cell stack. The stack components, including end plates, bipolar plates, and interconnects were redesigned and fabricated to replace those heavy components. Additive manufacturing (3D printing) and electroplating were used to fabricate bipolar plates and interconnects, whereas the end plates were machined from Garolite XX plates. The fabricated lightweight PEMFC stacks were tested using a Scribner 850e Fuel Cell Test System. The lightweight stack assembled with six electroplated bipolar plates showed that the maximum power density estimated was 3.514 W/cm2 with 4.5 V and 1.6 A/cm2 conditions for 100 ml/min of H2. The same fuel cell stack tested at 200 ml/min and 300 ml/min showed higher maximum power densities than 100 ml/min. The presentation includes design and fabrication, performance characterization, weight reduction strategy, and future work.

Download Full-text

Overcoming the Challenges for a Mass Manufacturing Machine for the Assembly of PEMFC Stacks

Machines ◽

10.3390/machines7040066 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 66 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Porstmann ◽

Wannemacher ◽

Richter

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Economies Of Scale ◽

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽

Cell System ◽

Active Components ◽

Fuel Cell Stack ◽

Electrolyte Membrane ◽

Modular Concept ◽

A Cell ◽

Manufacturing Machine

One of the major obstacles standing in the way of a break-through in fuel cell technology is its relatively high costs compared to well established fossil-based technologies. The reasons for these high costs predominantly lie in the use of non-standardized components, complex system components, and non-automated production of fuel cells. This problem can be identified at multiple levels, for example, the electrochemically active components of the fuel cell stack, peripheral components of the fuel cell system, and eventually on the level of stack and system assembly. This article focused on the industrialization of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack components and assembly. To achieve this, the first step is the formulation of the requirement specifications for the automated PEMFC stack production. The developed mass manufacturing machine (MMM) enables a reduction of the assembly time of a cell fuel cell stack to 15 minutes. Furthermore the targeted automation level is theoretically capable of producing up to 10,000 fuel cell stacks per year. This will result in a ~50% stack cost reduction through economies of scale and increased automation. The modular concept is scalable to meet increasing future demand which is essential for the market ramp-up and success of this technology.

Download Full-text