Title: Performance and Durability of Proton Exchange Membrane Vapor-Fed Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cells

Abstract

With a growing demand for electricity, clean hydrogen production and usage can be an asset not only to mitigate emissions but for long-term energy storage as well. Hydrogen gas, a high-density energy carrier, can be made through electrolysis in charging mode and generate electricity via a fuel cell in discharging mode in a unitized regenerative fuel cell (URFC). While URFCs reduce cost by combining the charging and discharging modes into a singular device, switching between modes becomes burdensome, and water management is a major challenge. One way to mitigate these issues is to operate the entire system in the vapor phase. Vapor-phase operation simplifies the physics of the system but will introduce losses within the system, primarily ohmic and mass transport during the charging mode. In this study, we explore the performance of a Proton-Exchange-Membrane (PEM)-URFC under vapor-phase conditions and the impact of different PEMs, feed gases, and relative humidity on the performance and durability. By tailoring operating conditions and membrane, the vapor-URFC achieves a roundtrip efficiency of 42% and a lifetime of 50,000 accelerated stress test cycles for fully humidified feeds. Discussion of vapor-URFC for energy storage and extensions to look at various applications shows the promise of thismore » technology.« less

Authors:

Fornaciari, Julie C. ;

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Fornaciari, Julie C."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-0473-2298"

Garg, Samay ;

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Garg, Samay"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-9872-6429"

Peng, Xiong ;

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Peng, Xiong"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-8737-5830"

Regmi, Yagya N. ;

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Regmi, Yagya N."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-6588-7683"

Weber, Adam Z. ;

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Weber, Adam Z."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-7749-1624"

Danilovic, Nemanja

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Danilovic, Nemanja"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0003-2036-6977"

Publication Date:

Thu May 12 00:00:00 EDT 2022

Research Org.:

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Fuel Cell Technologies Office; National Science Foundation (NSF)

OSTI Identifier:

1867739

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1866146; OSTI ID: 1867399

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC02-05CH11231; DGE 1106400; 2021322071

Resource Type:

Published Article

Journal Name:

Journal of the Electrochemical Society

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: Journal of the Electrochemical Society Journal Volume: 169 Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 0013-4651

Publisher:

The Electrochemical Society

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

25 ENERGY STORAGE