Steady State Isotopic Transient Kinetic Analysis Study of PEM Fuel Cell Anodes (SPA)

The hydrogen oxidation reaction at Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell anodes is poisoned by part per million levels of carbon monoxide. Pt is the catalyst of choice for the oxidation of pure hydrogen, but it has recently been demonstrated that there is a dynamic equilibrium between CO adsorbed on Pt or Pt/Ru nanoparticles and CO in the gas phase, and that this equilibrium is affected by the competitive adsorption between CO and hydrogen. The purpose of this research is to perform Steady State Isotopic Transient Kinetic Analysis (SSITKA) experiments using the isotopic exchange between 13CO and 12CO to investigate the competitive adsorption of hydrogen and CO on commercial Pt and PtRu catalysts.JRC.D.4-Isotope measurement

EU HARMONISED TEST PROTOCOLS FOR PEMFC MEA TESTING IN SINGLE CELL CONFIGURATION FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS

PEMFC due to their high energy density, low operating temperature and high efficiency are considered to be very suitable for vehicle propulsion. In such applications, fuel cells could encounter operating conditions which are severe to the materials involved. Fuel cell testing shall as close as possible reflect conditions encountered in real life. To enable a fair comparative assessment of the performance of MEA under operating conditions foreseen in future automotive applications, a set of representative operating conditions in addition with a test methodology is proposed. The aim of a unified set of harmonised operating conditions is to comparatively test and evaluate the performance of different MEAs in single cells. The current document is the result of a cumulative effort of industry and research organisations participating in FCH-JU funded projects for automotive applications, in establishing a harmonised test protocol for assessing PEMFC performance and durability at a single cell level. This document presents a set of reference operating conditions such as temperature, pressure, humidification, gas flow and composition at the fuel and oxidant inlet representative for future automotive applications. It also defines boundaries of these conditions within which the cell is expected to operate. While not specifying single cell design details, cell operation in counter flow is mandatory for comparative assessment. A methodology is established to examining the relative influence that the individual operating parameters exert on the MEA performance in single cell configuration once the cell is subjected to the more challenging boundary conditions defined in this document which are also called as stressor conditions. In addition to operating conditions, the most likely stressor conditions for single cell testing could be identified as follows: Load cycling, Mechanical effects, Fuel Air contaminants (impurities), and Environmental Conditions. In this document the focus is on stressors related to Operating Conditions and Load Cycling. Deviations from the automotive reference Operating Conditions may result in changes to both cell performance and durability. In principle the influence of each stressor on cell performance could be studied individually. However, since a number of stressors are inter-linked, (changing the value of one stressor could inevitably change the value of another), the stressor tests have been grouped into four families of Stressors, namely: Cell Temperature Stressor Tests, Reactants Gas Inlet Humidification Stressor Tests, Reactants Gas Inlet Pressure Stressor Tests, Oxidant Stoichiometry Stressor Tests. The aim of these tests is to study the effect of each stressor on the the cell voltage at three different current densities representative of activation, ohmic polarization and mass transfer regimes as a function of each stressor condition. The successful operation of a fuel cell depends not only on its performance but also on its durability. Fuel cell durability is evaluated through endurance testing by applying a repetitive load profile to the cell and measuring performance degradation in terms of cell voltage decrease as function of operating hours. To assess the cell degradation rate a dynamic load cycle for endurance testing is proposed. The Fuel Cell Dynamic Load Cycle is used in this document and is derived from the New European Driving Cycle modified for fuel cell applications. In addition to the definition of representative reference and stressor operating conditions, the document also provides a rationale for their selection. The use of sound science-based, industry-endorsed test methodologies and protocols enables true comparison of MEAs originating from different sources either commercial or developed within different projects. It also enables evaluating the rate of progress achieved towards reaching agreed technology performance targets.JRC.F.2-Energy Conversion and Storage Technologie

Fuel Cell Testing Protocols: An International Perspective

An overview of international polymer-electrolyte fuel cell (PEMFC) test procedures is presented. This overview is the first step in the global harmonization of testing methods. Many techniques and procedures determining stack performance and durability are discussed. Each approach has differences that may or may not impact the data and data quality. Through experiments, it was found that differences in the results from two methods for measuring sequential polarization curves are minimal. Answers to questions regarding differences in the aging duty cycles need to be determined experimentally. The results of these experiments are expected to help the harmonization process, to facilitate the understanding of test results, and, possibly, to accelerate the commercialization of PEMFCs.JRC.F.2-Cleaner energ

SOCTESQA - Solid Oxide Cell and Stack Testing, Safety and Quality Assurance

Many research facilities and industrial companies worldwide are engaged in the development and the improvement of solid oxide fuel cells/stacks (SOFC) and also of solid oxide electrolysis cells/stacks (SOEC). However, the successful application of fuel and electrolysis cells/stacks in real world conditions requires reliable assessment, testing and prediction of performance and durability. Therefore the EU-project SOCTESQA will start at the beginning of May with the aim to develop uniform and industry wide test procedures and protocols for SOC cell/stack assembly. The paper presents the main objectives, the project consortium, the structure, the work packages and the workflow plan of the project. The project builds on experiences gained in the FCTESTNET, FCTESQA series of projects taking up the methodology developed there. It will address new application fields which are based on the operation of the SOFC cell/stack assembly in the fuel cell and in the electrolysis mode, e.g. stationary SOFC μ-CHP, mobile SOFC APU and SOFC/SOEC power-to-gas systems. The test procedures will include current-voltage curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and long term tests both under steady state and dynamic operating conditions. The project partners are from different countries in Europe: French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Joint Research Centre – European Commission (JRC) from Belgium, European Institute for Energy Research (EIFER) from Germany and German Aerospace Center (DLR). All of them have long-term experience in the development, testing and harmonization of solid oxide cells/stacks. The project will have a clear structure based on an initial definition phase, the development of generic test modules, the corresponding experimental validation phases and the review of the test procedures. Several of these validation loops will result at the end of the project in final test modules, which will be confirmed by round robin tests. Moreover, the project will address safety aspects, liaise with standardization organizations and establish contact with industrial practice. This collaborative project will essentially help to accelerate the development and the market penetration of hydrogen and fuel cell (H2&FC) energy systems in Europe

Inter-laboratory comparison of Computational Fluid Dynamics codes for PEM fuel cell modelling

An inter-laboratory comparison of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes exercise for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell modelling was performed to assess modelling accuracy. Since PEM fuel cell models require a multi-physics approach involving many different phenomena, a simple comparison with experimental polarisation curves is not sufficient for the identification of the individual sources of errors the simulation software. Therefore, this report presents a methodology based on the comparison of partial simulation results. The report introduces first the list physical models available for the simulation of fuel cell phenomena. It describes then in details reference numerical test cases. Finally, it provides an example of application showing that by this approach, it is possible to verify any simulation software for PEM fuel cells, including commercial systems, without access to the source code.JRC.C.1 - Energy Storag

EU harmonised protocols for testing of low temperature water electrolysers

This report is the outcome of a combined effort of experts active in water electrolysis related projects coordinated by FCH2JU. It considers all three technologies of low temperature water electrolysis: proton (PEMWE), anion exchange membrane (AEMWE) and alkaline water electrolysers (AWE). It consists of a set of harmonised operating conditions, testing protocols and procedures for assessing both performance and durability of low temperature water electrolysis devices at every level of aggregation, from materials to stacks, up to grid-coupled systems. For the operating conditions, a number of agreed reference settings are presented, covering a.o. temperature, pressure, gas flow rate and gas composition. System boundaries are defined for these conditions, within which the electrolyser cell or stack is expected to operate. The report also presents an approach for assessing the effect on electrolyser performance and degradation of the exposure to more challenging conditions, known as “stressor conditions”. The grid balancing harmonised testing profiles are the result of the QualyGridS project N.735485.JRC.C.1 - Energy Storag

Development of reference hardware for harmonised testing of PEM single cell fuel cells

This report presents the design of a new hardware for testing performance and durability of single PEM fuel cells, more specifically their Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). It is well known that testing hardware configurations and working conditions have an influence on the results of the testing. The same MEA, tested by different hardware, will show different performance results. Therefore, the same MEA tested in different laboratories may show different performance depending on the testing hardware used as well as the test protocol employed. The already existing testing hardware setups for active area of at least 10 cm2 are based on single-serpentine, multi-serpentine, interdigitated or mixed flow fields. None of them ensures uniform working conditions in terms of pressure, temperature and concentration of reactants across the active area. The testing hardware proposed in this report is designed to allow a reliable inter-comparison of test results between different research centres. It aims at operating conditions as far as possible uniform across the MEA active area. This is done by minimising the contribution of the specific hardware setup features on the experimental results. The condition to achieve this, is a uniform distribution of all relevant physical quantities of reactant species, such as flow velocity, pressure, temperature and chemical concentration. However, the operating conditions for tests at a single cell level are still representative to the ones for the real, commercial fuel cell setups. Also important is that the compression of the tested MEA is well controlled during the whole performance/durability test. Finally, it is important to clarify that that the proposed testing hardware is not designed for establishing advanced flow fields with the purpose of improving the performance of a single cell. The testing hardware design was initiated based on a request from automotive OEMs in the frame of the Working Group on harmonisation of PEM fuel cells for automotive application of the Fuel cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking The report provides a detailed description of the testing hardware design, and the results of its validation experiments.JRC.C.1 - Energy Storag