Membrane/electrode assemblies in fuel cells and in electrochemical reactors

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:567368

Gottesfeld, S ^[1]

---

1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) have attracted much interest recently. The need for an efficient, non-polluting power source for vehicles in urban environments, emphasized by recent legislative initiatives, has resulted in increased attention to the option of fuel-cell powered vehicles of high efficiency and low tail pipe emissions. Hydrogen fuel could be carried on board the vehicle as either neat hydrogen, in the form of pressurized gas or cryogenically stored liquid, or in the form of a more ordinary liquid fuel, such as methanol or liquid hydrocarbon, which needs to be processed/converted on board the vehicle to a mixture of hydrogen and CO{sub 2}. Of various fuel cell systems considered, the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) technology seems to be most suitable for terrestrial transportation applications. This is thanks to low temperature of operation (hence, fast cold start), perfect CO{sub 2} tolerance by the electrolyte and a combination of high power density and high energy conversion efficiency. Key barriers for the development of this fuel cell technology for terrestrial applications, considered very high just 5-10 years ago, have been successfully overcome. As a result, automotive and fuel cell manufacturing industries have initiated significant technology validation programs and demonstrations which include fuel cell powered vehicles, stationary power generation systems and battery replacement devices. Market entry of PEFCs through the latter applications may actually precede implementation of such fuel cells in vehicular power systems because of less stringent demands on system`s cost.

• OSTI ID: 567368
• Report Number(s): CONF-961106--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
DESIGN
ELECTROCATALYSTS
ELECTROLYSIS
PLATINUM
POWER DENSITY
SOLID ELECTROLYTE FUEL CELLS
SULFONIC ACIDS
VEHICLES