Novel Concept of a Modular PEMFC Stack

Experimental Investigation into a Novel Design Concept of a Modular PEMFC Stack

PhD student: Paul Scott

Academic supervisor: Dr Y Chen

Supporting supervisor: Professor F Bhinder

Supporting supervisor: Dr R Calay

Funding: £116,000

Funding body: EPSRC and Euro Energy Solution

Period: Feb 2009-Oct 2013    

Low temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) offer a realistic and sustainable alternative to current pri movers that depend on fossil fuels. While being commercially available, PEMFC’s are not yet commercially viable due to a number of key challenges that are yet to be fully resolved, some of which include degradation, material selection and manufacturing processes. In an effort to reduce the cost associated with material selection and manufacturing while also trying to improve volumetric and gravimetric power densities of the PEMFC a novel design concept which removes the BPP from the stack was designed and manufactured and experimentally characterised. Results suggested performance comparable to traditional stacks with an improvement to the power densities commonly seen and at a significant reduction of cost compared to traditional counterparts.