Components of fuel cells

The progress in micro-reactor technology provides the background for the development of compact fuel processors and peripheral components of fuel cell systems. 

What we have seen is, that electrocatalysts are vital components of fuel cell systems. Much progress has been made over the years in improving their effectiveness both for anode and cathode reactions. There is nevertheless scope for considerable improvement in the performance of the electrocatalysts, particularly at the air cathode, where large activation overpotentials should be overcome. With the anode reaction also, electrocatalysts more tolerant to carbon monoxide should allow the use of less pure hydrogen and stimulate performance. There is much room for further improvement in the design of catalysts for use in fuel cells, by increasing both activity and durability. 

Bipolar plates are a very important component of fuel-cell batteries. They largely determine the efficiency of the battery and its possible lifetime. The bipolar plates take up considerably more than half of the total battery volume (sometimes as much as 80%), and have the corresponding share of the battery s weight. The cost of the bipolar plates is up tol5% of the battery s total cost. 

In recent decades, various electrode materials have been investigated to improve the performance of fuel cells [299]. A conventional low-temperature fuel cell electrode is composed of polytetrafluoroethylene, a high-surface-area carbon black loaded with a precious metal catalyst, and a current collector, as well as other minor components. The most challenging issue for electrode performance is the electrocatalyst [327]. Carbon has been established as the best catalyst support because of its good electrical conductivity, high surface area, surface hydro-phobicity, and stability [328-331]. In the past few years, template-synthesized carbons with various structures have been tried as components of fuel cells. 

Fuel cells [i.e., polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs)] in vehicle drivetrains returned to the agenda in the early 1990s with the Mercedes-Benz NECAR van in 1994. A substantial number of concepts have been developed since then, and several manufacturers envisage market introduction within a few years. The following section describes in detail concepts and components of fuel cell (hybrid) electric vehicles. 

The costs for fuel cell systems are currently extremely high due to individual manufacturing, but a significant reduction is feasible today by mass production. A study by NREL and TIAX [13] calculated the costs for the components of fuel cell systems and the overall cost for mass production. 

Components of Fuel Cell Powertrains 11065 Electric load... 

Water management is arguably the most critical component of fuel cell operation. The currently available membranes and catalyst layer ionomers require a high water content to maintain proton conductivity. However, the presence... 

In this book s earlier chapters, the various components of fuel cell performance decay mechanisms were introduced. This chapter will cover fuel cell performance degradation under different operating cycles, and describe various mitigation strategies imder actual application conditions. 

All the advantages and capabilities of MSCP are used widely to investigate different components of fuel cells and processes occurring in fuel cells during their operation. 

The book is, in many respects, unique. First of all, everywhere it starts from physics, oriented on physical understanding of how all components of fuel cells work and, most importantly, how they work together. Indeed, fuel cells are very interesting objects for physics—and both authors are physicists (with all of their degrees received in physics). 

Fuel cells are devices that convert the chemical energy stored in the fuel directly into electricity. They provide pollution-free clean energy and are extremely efficient. The most important component of fuel cell is the proton conductive membrane which transports proton from the anode to the cathode of the fuel cell, and also separates the fuel and the oxidant. Therefore, desirable properties of proton exchange membrane (PEM) include high proton conductivity, high resistance to... 

Polymeric Materials as Components of Fuel Cell Catalytic System... 

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