Development of integrated packaged single fuel cell short stack based on titanium metal plates for mobile power generation

Abstract

Bipolar plates (BPPs) and membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) are the key components for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), they are alternately arranged to construct a compact stack with high power generation. This stacking method may introduce several issues, such as the difficulties in maintenance, imprecise assembly and sealing. This paper presents a novel integrated packaged single fuel cell that employs titanium metal bipolar plates to construct a short stack with superior sealing performance and working reliability. To predict the performance of integrated packaged single cell, numerical model was developed to analyze the mass transfer of O2, H2 and H2O within the cell, revealing a uniform distribution of reactants and current. A short stack was manufactured with 10 layers of single cells, it retains excellent sealing properties and consistent output across a range of pressure conditions, with a leakage rate deviation lower than 0.03 mL/(min·cell) and membrane current density variation less than 5%. Finally, the electrochemical performance of the integrated packaged short stack was tested, its maximum power is 886.67 mW/cm2. It can achieve a rated output power of 169.14 W and an energy density of 1684.97 mW/cm3. Thus, our developed short stack has high energy utilization efficiency for power generation, and is anticipated to provide a durable power source for drones, robots and new energy vehicles.