Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Prototype Demonstration for Consumer Electronics Applications

Abstract

This report is the final technical report for DOE Program DE-FC36-04GO14301 titled “Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Prototype Demonstration for Consumer Electronics Applications”. Due to the public nature of this report some of the content reported in confidential reports and meetings to the DOE is not covered in detail in this report and some of the content has been normalized to not show actual values. There is a comparison of the projects accomplishments with the objectives, an overview of some of the key subsystem work, and a review of the three levels of prototypes demonstrated during the program. There is also a description of the eventual commercial product and market this work is leading towards. The work completed under this program has significantly increased the understanding of how Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) can be deployed successfully to power consumer electronic devices. The prototype testing has demonstrated the benefits a direct methanol fuel cell system has over batteries typically used for powering consumer electronic devices. Three generations of prototypes have been developed and tested for performance, robustness and life. The technologies researched and utilized in the fuel cell stack and related subsystems for these prototypes are leveraged from advances in other industries such as the hydrogen fueled PEM fuel cell industry. The work under this program advanced the state of the art of direct methanol fuel cells. The system developed by MTI micro fuel cells aided by this program differs significantly from conventional DMFC designs and offers compelling advantages in the areas of performance, life, size, and simplicity. The program has progressed as planned resulting in the completion of the scope of work and available funding in December 2008. All 18 of the final P3 prototypes builds have been tested and the results showed significant improvements over P2 prototypes in build yield, initial performance, and durability. The systems have demonstrated robust operation when tested at various orientations, temperatures, and humidity levels. Durability testing has progressed significantly over the course of the program. MEA, engine, and system level steady state testing has demonstrated degradation rates acceptable for initial product introduction. Test duration of over 5000 hrs has been achieved at both the MEA and breadboard system level. P3 level prototype life testing on engines (stacks with reactant conditioning) showed degradation rates comparable to carefully constructed lab fixtures. This was a major improvement over the P2 and P1 engine designs, which exhibited substantial reductions in life and performance between the lab cell and the actual engine. Over the course of the work on the P3 technology set, a platform approach was taken to the system design. By working in this direction, a number of product iterations with substantial market potential were identified. Although the main effort has been the development of a prototype charger for consumer electronic devices, multiple other product concepts were developed during the program showing the wide variety of potential applications.