Fuel Cell Manufacturing Research Articles

Techno-economic analysis of PEMFC and SOFC micro-CHP fuel cell systems for the residential sector

This work has the aim to carry on a techno-economic analysis to verify the performance of PEMFC and SOFC based micro combined heat and power systems, analyzing the seasonal performance of the device on the basis of the thermal and electrical 1-minute-averaged user load profiles. A Matlab® program has been written to build the annual profiles and to perform the energy evaluation of the system, considering the fuel cell production and the user demand and including a thermal and electrical storage. Four kinds of operation have been considered in order to evaluate the system behavior with different modulation strategies. Because the fuel cell needs a certain time to adapt its output power to steep load changes, a sensitivity analysis on the ramp rate has been made, in order to consider the impact of the speed of the cell in following the load requests. The calculation has been implemented both for the electrical led and thermal led operations, for single-family buildings. The economic analysis (based on the current prices of the technologies involved) has the aim to analyze different support schemes aimed at facilitating the technology competitiveness in the market, giving a general view of the possible technology applications in the near future.

Manufacture of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Using Electroless Co-Deposition: A Review of Work Carried out at Edinburgh Napier University

This paper reviews work carried out at Edinburgh Napier University on the manufacture of anodes and cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) using electroless co-deposition of nickel and ceramic powders. Most of the work has been focused on anodes where the co-deposition of nickel and yttria stabilised zirconia (YSZ) negates the need for traditional manufacturing methods such as screen printing and removes the need for expensive and time consuming high temperature consolidation of the ceramic part of the composite. Work has also been carried out manufacturing cathodes by electroless co-deposition replacing YSZ with lanthanum strontium manganite and lanthanum nickel ferrite. Anodes and cathodes of both planar and tubular designs of SOFCs have been successfully manufactured using this technique and process variables have included ceramic particle size, bath pH, ceramic loading, the inclusion of pore-formers and tubular orientation in the electroless bath. Testing of the electrodes included impedance analysis, long term degradation testing at 850oC for 500 and 1000-hours, high temperature electrical conductivity measurements, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The cost benefits of the electroless co-deposition process compared with other conventional processes are also discussed.

Ceres Power Steel Cell Technology: Rapid Progress Towards a Truly Commercially Viable SOFC

Ceres Power is continuing to make excellent progress in the development of its low-temperature metal supported SOFC design (the ‘Steel Cell’) based predominantly around the use of ceria. This unique design architecture allows for a robust, low cost, subsidy free fuel cell product, whilst retaining the advantages of fuel flexibility, high efficiency and low degradation. Over the last year, extensive development and verification of the technology has been undertaken on the latest generation of Steel Cell technology, which offers further enhancements in technology readiness level and manufacturability. Over the same period, third parties have deepened their testing and development engagements with Ceres Power for a broadening range of market applications at cell, stack, fuel cell module and product levels. This paper provides an update on Ceres’ development, verification approach and latest results.

Laser keyhole welding of stainless steel thin plate stack for applications in fuel cell manufacturing

An investigation based on both experimental and numerical approaches is presented in this paper on laser keyhole welding processes to join stacks consisting of multiple stainless steel plates. The welding parameters are shown to be decisive factors for weld penetration depth and welding productivity. The cooling rate varies with welding parameters and the location of solidification sites, and it directly determines the primary dendrite arm spacing for the columnar dendrites inside the weld zone. The joint fails in coach peel tests when the loading pressure is 93.4 MPa, and the fracture surface shows a mixed brittle and ductile mode. The corrosion resistance of the weld to the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell working environment is comparable to that of the substrate.

Numerical study of the cathode electrode in the Microfluidic Fuel Cell using agglomerate model

Simulation of the cathode electrode of a Microfluidic Fuel Cell (hereafter MFC) is performed with focus on the electrochemical reaction. Oxygen transport phenomena are modeled from the microchannel inlet to the reaction sites surface (on the platinum particles) in the catalyst layer. The dissolved oxygen in sulfuric acid and the formic acid are considered as the oxidant and the fuel, respectively. The cathode catalyst layer is modeled using the agglomerate model versus the homogenous model which is incapable of predicting concentration loss at high current densities. The results are validated versus the experiments of Choban et al. published in 2004. A set of parametric study is performed to investigate the influence of operating and structural parameters on the cell performance; at the end, a sensitivity analysis is implemented to rank the studied parameters with rank 1 for the most influential parameters. The results indicate that oxygen concentration at the inlet of microchannel within the range 0.1 M–0.7 M is the most influential parameter, and the cell performance can enhance by 2.615 W m−2 at the studied range. The results could be used by the microfluidic fuel cell manufacturers to overcome the current drawbacks of the MFCs.

Electrochemically prepared cuprous oxide film for photo-catalytic oxygen evolution from water oxidation under visible light

Photo-catalytic oxygen evolution from water oxidation is very important for solar energy utilization and fuel cell production. In this work, cuprous oxide film for photo-catalytic water oxidation and oxygen evolution under visible light was in-situ prepared on a copper foil with an anodization based method. The surface features of cuprous oxide film were characterized with X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The oxygen evolution capacity of as-obtained cuprous oxide film was evaluated with a water photolysis system, and an oxygen yield of 233.27μmol per milligram of cuprous oxide was achieved during 8h of illumination. During the reaction, water was oxidized by the photo-generated holes in cuprous oxide, and the copper/cuprous oxide heterojunction can effectively separate the photo-generated electron–hole pairs, which promote the catalytic activity of cuprous oxide film. The oxygen evolution reaction was driven by the bending of energy band of cuprous oxide caused by the semiconductor-metal contact. The remaining protons by the water oxidation resulted in the acidizing of water.

The viability of renewable energy and energy storage as the power source for municipal- scale reverse osmosis desalination

This research investigates the viability of renewable energy and energy storage to meet a significant and fundamental human need (in this case, large-scale drinking water supplies) unassisted by conventional power. The use of renewable energy to power reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plants to provide potable water for around 50,000 people in Newhaven, in South East England, and in Massawa in Eritrea, was investigated. The following energy sources, in a variety of combinations were specifically assessed: (i) wind power, (ii) wave power, (iii) solar power, (iv) tidal current power, (v) hydrogen production, storage and use in Fuel Cells. The following types of RO plants were studied: (i) No Brine Stream Recovery (BSR) RO plant, (ii) Pelton Wheel BSR RO plant, (iii) Pressure Exchanger BSR RO plant. Modelling was conducted to derive the amount of water that each RO plant would deliver from various combinations and amounts of renewable power input, at varying feedwater temperatures. Scenarios that were not able to deliver enough water to meet the users’ needs were scaled-up so that they could. The cost of the scaled-up scenarios that were able to meet the users’ water demands was compared with the costs associated with the equivalent conventionallypowered scenario over a 25-year life. Specifically, the following were considered: (i) A coal-fired plant with carbon capture and storage (CCS) at Newhaven and (ii) A diesel generator at Massawa. This comparison was made with and without the external costs associated with conventional energy production and use.

Development of Next Generation Heavy Duty Bus Fuel Cells with Enhanced Durability

The large-scale commercialization of durable and cost-competitive Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC) technology for automotive applications still faces significant challenges. Fuel cell manufacturers need to develop low cost materials and fabrication approaches that surpass current levels of performance and durability. With funding from Ballard Power Systems and Automotive Partnership Canada, the present three-year project is dedicated to research and product development of next generation PEFC stack technology for transit buses [1]. The central objective is to advance the fundamental understanding of membrane degradation mechanisms and failure modes under drive cycles and conditions that are typical of heavy duty vehicle operation, and to leverage this knowledge to develop enhanced durability solutions.The project involves a cohesive research team from Ballard Power Systems, Simon Fraser University, and University of Victoria, with complementary and multi-disciplinary expertise in fuel cell science and technology, materials design and fabrication, multi-scale modeling, system design and engineering, as well as system controls and diagnostics. A comprehensive experimental-theoretical research approach is pursued that ranges from fundamental theory to empirical analysis, with close university-industry collaboration. For validation purposes, the research benefits from extensive real-time field data and field operated material samples extracted from the Whistler, British Columbia fuel cell bus fleet. The results obtained to date have enabled substantial improvements in membrane stability under bus conditions (based on laboratory testing) and enhanced the ability to accurately predict the fuel cell stack lifetime over several years of on-road transit service. This understanding will guide the development of the next generation of heavy duty fuel cell modules that reduce both capital cost and operating costs of fuel cell buses, making them commercially competitive with diesel hybrid buses on a lifecycle basis.

Waste-to-energy projects get down and dirty by scavenging waste to score hydrogen: Part 1

Fuel cell manufacturers worldwide have been examining waste-to-energy applications (WtE, also referred to as EfW, energy from waste, and more specifically hydrogen from waste) since the early 1990s. During that time, proton-exchange membrane (PEMFC), alkaline (AFC), molten carbonate and direct carbonate (MCFC/DFC), solid oxide (SOFC), and phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC) have been demonstrated. Recent, promising WtE economics are resulting from biogas-fueled fuel cells that can generate multiple revenue streams at MW scale. In this first of a two-part article, we look at the practicalities of bioH2 for fuel cells, and look at how FuelCell Energy is showing this can certainly be done.

Renewable hydrogen from ethanol by a miniaturized nonthermal arc plasma-catalytic reforming system

Ethanol–water mixtures were reformed directly into H2-rich gas without extra heat source with conversion rates of 69.8% and 88.0% by nonthermal arc plasma and plasma-catalytic reactors, respectively. The plasma reactor consists of a Laval nozzle electrode and a central electrode. The ethanol, water and air mixtures were mixed by a spray nozzle, and then introduced into the Laval nozzle. In terms of energy efficiency, the optimal reforming condition was determined to be O/C ∼ 0.5 and S/C ∼ 1.0 with an ethanol input rate of ∼0.10 g s−1. Furthermore, it is also found that applying Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst just at the downstream of the discharge region contributed to a better conversion extent and a higher hydrogen production rate, while the power consumption increased slightly, thus the specific energy required for hydrogen production reduced from 68.5 to 40.1 kJ mol−1 at O/C = 0.44, S/C = 1.28 and inlet ethanol = 0.10 g s−1. This reforming technology has promising prospects not only for low-cost hydrogen generation and efficiency improvement for inner combustion engine, but also for many other potential chemical applications, such as nanophase material preparation and solar fuel cell manufacturing.

ReliOn fuel cells providing reliable power for telecoms

As the global population continues to transition to wireless networks as a primary communications model, carriers are working to ensure reliability and resiliency of their networks. The telecommunications industry continues to increase its use of ReliOn fuel cells for both backup and disaster recovery scenarios. Providing a highly reliable, clean solution for the variety of requirements seen at global locations requires a robust playbook of both fuel cell products and fueling solutions. This is both the challenge and opportunity for growth in the fuel cell industry.

PowerDisc's eFlow® reduces fuel cell commercialisation cost

The successful commercialisation of any new technology is inherently dependent on its ability to compete head-to-head with incumbent product. In pursuit of price parity, the fuel cell industry has historically focused on reducing unit cost, increasing durability and longevity, and volume production. While these are all important, many fuel cell developers have yet to address the exorbitant costs and time-consuming processes required to develop new applications which ultimately encumber profitability, sway allocation decisions, and influence which markets to pursue. This article outlines a radical approach that can dramatically lower the total cost burden of product development, as well as reduce fuel cell unit cost and improve longevity and durability, enabling a more economical path to fuel cell product commercialisation.

Who Is the Global Fuel Cell Leader Today? What the United States Needs to Do to Get Back in the Lead

Three government entities have vigorously competed for leadership in the fuel cell field—the EU (the European Union in combination with individual European state government), Japan, and the United States. For many years, Japan had no significant fuel cell accomplishments, nor had it successfully brought to market fuel cell products. Yet today Japan is leading the world in fuel cell market share. How did they do it? The story is simple. It worked out a long term plan and stuck with it. Key laws were enacted to address the inferior science and technology competence in Japan and promote originality, inventiveness, and entrepreneurship. Second, the government ensured that the laws were implemented by all the relevant ministries. Third, policy initiatives were developed to promote fuel cell technology, which were supported by the entire government, including the Prime Minister’s office. Fourth, the government published ambitious fuel cell roadmaps and demonstrated consistent and strong leadership to ensure that industry joined forces with the government. Finally, the government provided a robust and stable fuel cell budget. As a result, Japan now leads the world in fuel cell patents and has the largest market for fuel cell products in the world. Comparisons with the EU and US programs suggest that Japan could remain the leader for some time to come, unless the US adopts a new strategy for fuel cell development. This strategy will require building a political consensus between government and industry as well as undertaking substantial changes to R&D programs and management.

Effect of Membrane Electrode Assembly Bonding Technique on Fuel Cell Performance and Platinum Crystallite Size

Major efforts are underway to reduce fuel cell manufacturing costs, thereby facilitating widespread adoption of fuel cell technology in emerging applications, such as combined heat and power and transportation. This research investigates new methods for fabricating membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), which are at the core of fuel cell technology. A key manufacturing step in the production of fuel cell MEAs is bonding two electrodes to an ionically conductive membrane. In particular, new MEA bonding methods are examined for polybenzimidazole-based phosphoric acid (PBI/PA) fuel cells. Two new methods of bonding PBI/PA fuel cell MEAs were studied with the goal of reducing cycle time to reduce manufacturing costs. Specifically, the methods included ultrasonic bonding and thermally bonding with advance process control (APC thermal). The traditional method of thermally bonding PBI MEAs requires 30 seconds, whereas the new bonding methods reduce the cycle time to 2 and 8 seconds, respectively. Ultrasonic bonding was also shown to significantly reduce the energy consumed by the bonding process. Adverse effects of the new bonding methods on cell performance and structure were not observed. Average cell voltages at 0.2 A/cm2 for ultrasonic, APC thermal, and thermally bonded MEAs were 650 mV, 651 mV, and 641 mV, respectively. The platinum crystallite size was found to be the same before and after ultrasonic bonding using XRD. Furthermore, changes in the electrode pore structure were not observed in SEM images taken after ultrasonic bonding. The test results show that it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs by switching to faster methods of bonding PBI phosphoric acid fuel cell MEAs.

Alloy Selection and Die Design for Stamped Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) Bipolar Plates

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells have benefits over heat engines and batteries as an energy system for transportation, stationary power, and portable electronics. Before fuel cells can replace current energy systems, their manufacturing cost to performance ratio must be improved. The bipolar plate is a fuel cell component that contributes significantly to fuel cell manufacturing costs and is a key driver of performance. Metallic bipolar plates, with characteristic flow dimensions below the standard 1 mm, were fabricated using direct machining. Hydrogen/air fuel cells constructed of these plates were tested to ensure performance gains, using interdigitated flow operation and automobile-representative channel lengths. Finite Element Modelling (FEM) was used to investigate the manufacture of bipolar plates using low cost sheet metal stamping. Multiple bipolar plate alloys were compared based on their stampability, and die design parameters needed to stamp submillimeter channels were determined. Springback analysis was performed, and the effect of springback on fuel cell stack stresses was investigated.

Fuel Cells for Dismounted Warfighter Use

Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC) has been developing fuel cell power sources for the US military, including soldier borne applications in an austere environment with minimum access to resupply and vehicular transportation. These dismounted soldier applications require systems that are power and energy dense to minimize the load burden. A number of fuel cell products have been developed for these applications, and the performance of these systems are discussed. Significant advancements in power density and energy density have been made, resulting in increased relevance to users. Based on recent advances, it is anticipated that these fuel cells will be transitioned as a viable alternative to the incumbent power solutions upon successfully meeting cost, reliability and ergonomic targets.

The diffusion process of stationary fuel cells in a two-sided market economy

This paper presents an innovative approach to promote the hydrogen economy based on the two-sided markets theory. In the hydrogen economy, the hydrogen is delivered to the customers and is then converted into electricity and heat by fuel cells. This environmentally friendly decentralized power network consists of fuel cell manufacturers, hydrogen producers, and the purchasers of fuel cells and hydrogen.We present the specific characteristics of networks – two-sided market effects – and describe their effectiveness of establishing a network. Because the coordination of these effects additionally helps to implement the hydrogen economy locally, we consider an intermediary in the network. To fulfil this task we model a Bass diffusion process of fuel cells and hydrogen producers. The simulations indicate that including and coordinating the network effects can accelerate the diffusion of fuel cells and hydrogen supply significantly—fuel cell installations can be doubled in the first 5 years.

A Novel System for Carbon Dioxide Capture Utilizing Electrochemical Membrane Technology

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (FCE), in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and URS Corporation, is developing a novel Combined Electric Power and Carbon-Dioxide Separation (CEPACS) system, under a contract from the U.S. Department of Energy (DE-FE0007634), to efficiently and cost effectively separate carbon dioxide from the emissions of existing coal fired power plants. The CEPACS system is based on FCE’s electrochemical membrane (ECM) technology utilizing the Company’s internal reforming carbonate fuel cell products carrying the trade name of Direct FuelCell® (DFC®). The unique chemistry of carbonate fuel cells offers an innovative approach for separation of CO2 from existing fossil-fuel power plant exhaust streams (flue gases). The ECM-based CEPACS system has the potential to become a transformational CO2-separation technology by working as two devices in one: it separates the CO2 from the exhaust of other plants such as an existing coal-fired plant and simultaneously produces clean and environmentally benign (green) electric power at high efficiency using a supplementary fuel.The overall objective of this project is to successfully demonstrate the ability of FCE’s electrochemical membrane-based CEPACS system technology to separate ≥ 90% of the CO2 from a simulated Pulverized Coal (PC) power plant flue-gas stream and to compress the captured CO2 to a state that can be easily transported for sequestration or beneficial use. Also, a key project objective is to show, through a Technical and Economic Feasibility Study and bench scale testing (11.7 m2 area ECM), that the electrochemical membrane-based CEPACS system is an economical alternative for CO2 capture in PC power plants, and that it meets DOE objectives for the incremental cost of electricity (COE) for post-combustion CO2 capture.

Design and Manufacturing of a Micro Zinc-Air Fuel Cell for Mobile Applications

Generating electrical energy for mobile applications requires specific characteristics including high energy density, high specific energy and low temperature. In this paper a Micro Zinc-Air Fuel Cell (MZAFC) has been constructed to provide the required electrical energy for small-scale vehicles. The manufactured cell provided a very smooth voltage-current characteristic curve which is very important for design purposes. The cell has been assembled and tested on a small vehicle. 1.2-1.4 1.1-1.4 1.0-1.2

Graphite Felt Anode Modified by Electropolymerization of Nano-Polypyrrole to Improve Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) Production of Bioelectricity

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) have emerged as a potential technology for direct bioelectricity production from organic matters in wastewater streams that are otherwise unutilized. The graphite felt anode modification by nanopolypyrrole (nano-PPy) was carried out via electropolymerization reaction using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The electropolymerization trials designated PPy-1, PPy-2 and PPy-3 used 5, 10 and 20 CV cycles, respectively with a scanning voltage ranged from 0 to 0.9 V at a rate of 50 mV/s. The influences of reaction time (reflected by the number of cycles of CV) on the morphology of the polypyrrole films on the anodes and the MFC performance were investigated. The polypyrrole film thickness and particle diameter increased with reaction time. Using the PPy-2 anode, the maximum power density was 430 mW/m2, a 15% increase compared with that of the control (i.e., MFC with an unmodified anode). Furthermore, the Coulombic efficiency and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal also increased after the anode modification.