Figure 6 cell voltage green, power density black, and efficiency red versus cell current density. View our list of fuel cell components including nafion membranes, toray carbon paper, anodes, cathodes, and electrode assembly. Our materials can withstand the rigorous operating conditions of stationary fuel cell systems installed as backup power systems in remote locations. Those three states comprise 95 percent of the current domestic fuel cell market. Fuel cell systems engineering, f06 project initiation needs based development there is either a real or perceived shortcoming with an existing system or process project is typically initiated by the user, e. What are the critical system parameters to accomplish the mission. Sofcs are expected primarily because of the highest power generating efficiency among various types of fuel cells. In the simplest example, a fuel such as hydrogen is brought into the anode compartment and an oxidant, typically oxygen, into the cathode compartment. Palladin opportunity based development the emergence of a new technology creates a new market. As long as fuel and oxygen are supplied to the fuel cell, energy production is continuous. Materion delivers high performance materials that meet the growing demand of the fuel cell market. Preparation and characterization of components for. How will the system accomplish its mission objective. A pem proton exchange membrane cell uses hydrogen gas h 2 and oxygen gas o 2 as fuel.
An introduction to fuel cells and hydrogen technology by brian cook, heliocentris vancouver, canada whereas the 19th century was the century of the steam engine and the 20th century was the century of the internal combustion engine, it is likely that the 21st century will be the century of the fuel cell. Environmental impact of fuel cell power generation systems. This is a big improvement over internal combustion. A broad range of fuel cell components can be sourced using this comprehensive vertical portal dedicated to helping in research and purchasing. Fuel cell materials and components northwestern scholars. A fuel cell, although having components and characteris tics similar to. Targets for the electrocatalyst, membrane, and membrane electrode assembly are shown in tables 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Further, the paper looks to introduce both the technical and economic issues facing the introduction of this technology. Solid oxide fuel cell materials alternative energy. Download citation fuel cell materials and components fuel cells offer the possibility of zeroemissions electricity generation and increased energy security. Fuel cells are mainly categorized by the type of electrolyte they use.
Ongoing research is focused on identifying and developing new materials that will reduce the cost and extend the life of fuel cell stack components including membranes. Fuel cells offer the possibility of zeroemissions electricity generation and increased energy security. Nov 15, 2001 the need to minimize cell resistivities has a major impact on the selection and processing of the cell components. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requiring a continuous source of fuel and oxygen usually from air to sustain the chemical reaction, whereas in a battery the chemical energy usually comes. Browse through the largest collection of fuel cell materials and components in the world at the fuel cell store. Beginning with the underlying concepts, the discussion explores fuel cell thermodynamics, kinetics, transport, and show all.
Sofcs can run on a variety of fuels, including hydrocarbons and pure hydrogen gas, and require high. A fuel cell is a batterylike system that uses hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity by an electrochemical reaction. Top quality fuel cell components are offered in this comprehensive source of manufacturers, distributors and service companies for the industrial marketplace. Many of these operational characteristics of fuel cell systems are superior to those of conventional power generators. This presentation does not contain any proprietary, confidential, or otherwise restricted information. Hydrogen is supplied to the anode and oxygen to the cathode. Fuel cells are similar to batteries in that they both. An introduction to fuel cell technology and economics. In a fuel cell a reaction takes place where hydrogen and oxygen recombine into water and thereby releasing energy. This layer combination is called the membraneelectrode assembly mea 22.
Breaking down the total cost of ownership results into separate components provides an understanding of the benefits of using fuel cells for mhe and also shows some of the challenges hydrogen and fuel cell technologies face. Figure 41 various proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks 4. Volume 51, issue 19, 25 november 2003, pages 59816000. Fuel cell power systems possess certain generic characteristics, which may make them favorable for future power production compared with devices based primarily on rotating machinery using thermomechanical processes. Some of the components associated with a fuel cell power generation system will be briefly described to visualize the potential environmental and economic impact of each. In solid oxide fuel cells sofcs, the cathode and the anode are made from porous ceramic materials and the electrolyte consists of a dense oxygen ion. Fuel cell systems engineering, f06 operational requirements operational distribution or deployment. A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel often hydrogen and an oxidizing agent often oxygen into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. In addition to meeting those individual demands, fuel cell materials must be chemically compatible with one another, such that no detrimental reactions occur over the many tens of thousands of hours expected for fuel cell lifetimes. These include alkaline fuel cells, polymer electrolyte fuel cells, direct methanol fuel cells, phosphoric acid fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cells and regenerative fuel cells. The intermediate temperature region for fuel cells 200400. The primary components of a fuel cell are an ion conducting electrolyte, a cathode, and an anode, as shown schematically in fig. Similar to other batteries, the fuel cell consists of two electrodes anode and cathode and an electrolyte figure 1. Solid oxide fuel cell materials alternative energy sigma.
In terms of equipment costs, fuel cell systems are. Zmg 232 separator material zmg 232 is a separator material for sofc solidoxide fuel cell. Fuel cell has no internal moving parts like electrical. Besides that, an overview on the working fundamentals and performance. This system should be capable of delivering the needed. Chemical energy in the fuel converted to electricity and heat. Marcinkoski, fuel cell system cost, doe fuel cell technologies office record, oct 20. Department of energys premier laboratory for renewable energy research and development. E cell e rev i r electronic r membrane hor orr i r h eff tx gasdry wet 1 1 where e rev. Gadolinium doped ceria gdc or cgo, yttriastabilized zirconia, and our patented hionic tm substrates are available in multiple sizes. With its distinguished editor and international team of contributors, materials for fuel cells is a valuable reference for all those researching, manufacturing and using fuel cells in such. The products of the reaction in the cell are water, electricity, and heat. The critical role of materials science and engineering in the development of fuel cell technology is surveyed. A cell consists of two electrodes, anode and cathode, with a layer of electrolyte between them.
N2 fuel cells offer the possibility of zeroemissions electricity generation and increased energy security. A fuel cell is a device that combines chemical energy from fuel with an oxidizing agent to produce electricity. Suitable electrical conductivity is required for different cell components to perform their intended cell functions. Connecticut and new york follow as the second and third ranked states with current fuel cell installations at 25 mw and 10 mw, respectively. The only emission from a hydrogen fuel cell is pure water.
Such solid electrolyte systems obviate the need to contain corrosive liquids and are thus preferred by many developers over alkali, phosphoric acid or molten. Fuel cell components isomolded and isomolded impervious resintreated graphite plates, gas diffusion layers and membranes for manufacturing proton exchange membrane pem fuel cell, direct methanol dmfc and phosphoric acid pafc stacks. More david cullen, harry meyer, kelly perry, and shawn reeves. To help achieve the highlevel goals mentioned above and to guide component researchers, doe has also developed targets for individual pem fuel cell components.
In 20 there were over 4,000 fuel cell forklifts used in material handling in the us, 125 of which 500 received funding from doe 2012. Since then, fuel cell research has continued unabated and fuel cells have been used successfully in a wide variety of applications. Apr 22, 2016 fuel cell fundamentals provides a thorough introduction to the principles and practicalities behind fuel cell technology. Costeffective fabrication of porous electrode structures was achieved for the. Support and use components housing the system control valve pem fuel cell components mea basics purchasing meas and components surplus fuel cells building the k18 hard graphite convection single slice fuel cell k18 fuel cell tool list k18 fuel cell materials list about the materials buying membrane electrode assemblies and components. More than 80 percent of the public stationary pem fuel cell demonstration and commercial systems placed in the field over the past three. Figure 77 expansion of typical cell components in a 10 cm x 10 cm planar sofc with niysz. Fc020 characterization of fuel cell materials 3 relevance ornls research objectives identify, develop, and optimize novel highresolution imaging and compositionalchemical analysis techniques, and unique specimen preparation methodologies, for the mtoa scale characterization of. Materials issues in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Carbon cloth are critical components of fuel cell membrane electrode assemblies meas.
Gas diffusion substrates are unparalleled in their ability to meet the rigorous demands of the fuel cell, including platinum catalyst and functional layer support, effective transport of gases and liquids, and conduction of heat and electricity. A fuel cell power generation system consists of more than just the fuel cell. The basic components of a ceramic fuel cell stack are electrolyte, anode, cathode and interconnect. As a result, there was little research and further development of fuel cells for many years to follow. This presentation does not contain any proprietary.
National fuel cell research center supports the fuel cell industry by providing research, development, and technology exchange. From catalyst to membranes, gas diffusion layers to catalyzed electrodes, catalyst coated membranes ccms to membrane electrode assemblies meas, gasket and bipolar plates to fuel cell stack installation parts, we have every fuel cell component and fuel cell material you could. In 2011, fuelcell materials was awarded the international organization for standardization 9001. The materials for different cell components are to be selected based on the following criteria. A durable fuel cell power system including hydrogen storage that achieves 60% energy efficiency when operating at peak power and that offers a 325 wkg power density and 220 wl operating on hydrogen.
The single fuel cell is composed of three components. An evaluation of the total cost of ownership of fuel cell. A broad range of fuel cell components can be sourced using this comprehensive vertical. Ryan ohayre, phd, is a professor of metallurgical and materials engineering at the colorado. Fuel cell systems employ an entirely different approach to the production of electricity than traditional combustion based prime mover technologies. Recent progress on the key materials and components for. Fuel cell systems must be costcompetitive with, and perform as well or better than, traditional power technologies over the life of the system. Other components are associated and may include a fuel processor and a power conditionerinverter. Department of materials science and of chemical engineering, california institute of technology, 878, pasadena, ca, 91125, usa accepted 31 august 2003 abstract fuel cells offer the possibility of zeroemissions electricity generation and increased energy security. The inability to fabricate reliable triplephaseboundary tbp structures involving electrolytes, electronic conductors, and gaseous reactants, severely restricted the progress of fuel cells until about four decades ago. Gore fuel cell components are being used by nearly all of the major fuel cell system developers worldwide, powering a wide variety of fuel cell systems in stationary, portable and transportation applications. Pdf materials technology of fuel cells researchgate. A fuel cell forklift also called a fuel cell lift truck is a fuel cell powered industrial forklift truck used to lift and transport materials.
Project overview project initiated in fy2000 continuous fundamental research on the microstructural characterization of fuel cell materials to improve durability fuel cell barriers addressed. Hydrogen fuel cell engines and related technologies. Fuel cell components, fuel cell components manufacturer. An overview of fuel cells currently under development. The fuel cell system that has been studied for ts prolific is intended to be silent rather than environmentally benign. The use of all solid materials is the key defining feature of these cells, as it allows for the development of cell designs that are incompatible with the use of liquid electrolytes. These technologies and products are suited to the developing of solid oxide fuel cells sofc and fuel processing markets which include such items as. Recent progress on the key materials and components for proton. Hardware components used to incorporate an mea into a fuel cell include gaskets, which provide a seal around the mea to prevent leakage of gases, and bipolar plates, which are used to assemble individual pem fuel cells into a fuel cell stack and provide channels for the gaseous fuel and air. Sofcs can run on a variety of fuels, including hydrocarbons and pure hydrogen gas, and require high operating temperatures regardless of fuel type. Energy efficiency and renewable energy network a comprehensive resource for the does energy efficiency and renewable energy information, plus access to more than 600 links and 80,000 documents houston advanced research centers center for fuel cell research and applications conducts demonstration projects and applied research focusing on promising fuel cell technologies in. A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical potential energy energy stored in molecular bonds into electrical energy.