Development of novel single fuel cell based on composite polar plates for highly efficient power generation

Abstract

In proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), bipolar plate (BPP) and membrane electrode assembly (MEA) are arranged alternately to construct a fuel cell stack for power generation. This construction method may affect the power generation performance of fuel cell stack or even damage the MEA components. To improve the fuel cell stack's assembly efficiency, we propose a novel single fuel cell that consists of two composite polar plates and a MEA, the composite polar plate is formed by a nylon frame and a titanium thin sheet with microchannels. The structural design of the single cell and its working principles are firstly presented, and followed by the fabrication of the single fuel cell. A three dimensional (3D) numerical model is developed to investigate the internal electrochemical reaction behaviors of the single fuel cell. Then, experimental tests are conducted to test its electrochemical performance for power generation. The obtained results showed that the open circuit voltage can reach 0.93 V and energy density is approximately 813.83 mW/cm3, indicating our developed single fuel cell had a high energy utilization efficiency for power generation. Therefore, our developed single fuel cell has the potential to power unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robotics, and new energy vehicles.