fuel cell Articles
-
FuelCellsEtc – Spin-out or Sale response
There has been some question about whether FuelCellsEtc was a “Spin-out” or an “Acquisition” (see Fuel Cell Nations post). I confess, this is largely due to my own inconsistencies in terminology. So here’s the skinny: FuelCellsEtc licensed (exclusively) all of the technology, process, etc of the Commercial Fuel Cell Components Division (CFCC) at Lynntech. We ...
-
ELAT-1400 Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) Not “Discontinued”
After the original manufacturer of ELAT Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) stopped producing the material, many of the fuel cell industry had to scramble for replacements and were continuing their projects based on inventory already purchased. We were no exception. After a fair amount of searching and evaluation, we finally found a replacement that had very similar mechanical properties. So, for a ...
-
What is the Difference Between Carbon Paper and Carbon Cloth Based Gas Diffusion Layers (GDL)?
Carbon Paper Gas Diffusion Layers Carbon Paper Gas Diffusion Layers (GDL) (e.g. Sigracet, Freudenberg, Toray, etc) tend to be thinner and more brittle than Carbon Cloth Gas Diffusion Layers (e.g. ELAT™, GDL-CT). Each type has a different mass transport, porosity, hydrophobicity, and conductivity. Papers such as Toray are quite hard and brittle, with very little compressibility. These ...
-
Valorising By-Product Hydrogen - Case Study
Overview Electrochemical processes, such as the industrial production of caustic soda and chlorine, use large quantities of electricity which contribute significantly to production costs, up to 70% in some cases. They also produce hydrogen as a waste product (see diagram), which is either combusted or vented to the atmosphere. Fuel cells offer a highly efficient method of utilising this ...
-
How Many Cells do I Need in my Fuel Cell? (Simple Fuel Cell Design Guide)
As with Electrolyzers on my previous post, there are many nuances in the optimal design of a Fuel Cell. The proper selection depends on the application, type of fuel cell, component selection and design (MEAs, flow fields, etc.) and a host of other factors. However, I will start with a simple tool that will help determine some general characteristics of a typical H2/Air fuel cell. Thanks to ...
-
Why is Humidity / Moisture Control Important in a Fuel Cell?
The root of all of this is that Nafion membranes must stay hydrated to function properly. If they are not fully humidified the conductivity decreases and therefore more of the electricity is converted directly to heat before it leaves the membrane (I2R heating). If it gets too dry it basically stops functioning as a proton transporter. All of this sounds great since a Hydrogen Fuel Cell consumes ...
-
Uninterruptible Power Supply - Case Study
Overview Events such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have focused attention on the availability and reliability of telecommunications services worldwide. Both wireless and wireline communications are expanding globally, so the provision of reliable, economical power is vital. Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) networks in use by emergency services, military personnel and government agencies require ...
-
Prime Power Generation - Case Study
A national electricity grid must always be able to meet the needs of its users. This requires it to be: stable, maintaining the required electrical frequency (50 Hz in the UK); balanced, continuously matching supply to demand; and adequate, ensuring total generation capacity is never outstripped by demand. Grid supply is split into three tiers: base, intermediate, and peak load. Baseload is a ...
-
What is the Purpose of a Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL)?
The Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) plays several critical roles in a typical fuel cell application and is often integrated as part of the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). Typical applications that use GDLs consist of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (PEMFC) and Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC). When a GDL is coated with a catalyst it is than referred to as a Gas Diffusion Electrode (GDE), which are ...
-
Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) Activation Procedures
Why is an activation procedure or break-in necessary for a membrane electrode assembly (MEA)? A large reason for performing an activation procedure or break-in is to properly humidify the membrane portion of the MEA that was dried out during the hot press stage of the membrane electrode assembly(MEA) production. MEAs will not work well when they are not fully humidified (see article: Why is ...
-
Development of a generic fuel cell model: application to a fuel cell vehicle simulation
In this paper, a novel approach to fuel cell modelling is proposed. The model is obtained from manufacturer datasheets and is able to represent the behaviour of any hydrogen fuel cells. The simulation results are as expected with an error in the range of ±1%, provided a controlled stack internal humidity. The procedure to extract data from fuel cells datasheet is described along with the method ...
-
Fuel Cell Voltage Monitoring Considerations
Knowing what’s happening inside a fuel cell is a critical function, especially as fuel cells are continuing to be developed. One important aspect of this is to measure the voltageof each cell in a stack. Although this may sound trivial, it can be more complex and more expensive than it may at first appear due to high voltages, high channel counts,communication types, etc. There are a few ...
-
Residential Heat and Power - Case Study
A wide variety of technologies are available to provide heating and electricity to our homes. In countries with a stable electricity grid, lighting and heating are taken for granted; but the desire for cleaner energy is highlighting how dirty grid electricity is around the world, and concerns over the future of nuclear power are adding to the debate. Many countries also have a network that ...
-
Converting Waste to Energy - Case Study
Waste management is a necessity wherever people live, but traditionally waste is viewed as a problem, something that pollutes and needs reducing or mitigating. What if this mindset could be changed such that we value our waste as a source of bioenergy? Waste contains significant quantities of energy and, if we could harness this close to where the waste is generated and convert it to a useable ...
-
Developments in Auxiliary Power for Vehicles
Fuel cells are widely recognised as a technology of the future and as a potential replacement for the internal combustion engine in cars and other vehicles.This article looks at the potential for fuel cells to provide auxiliary power to vehicles, rather than primary motive power. Today, hydrogen-fuelled proton exchange membrane (PEM) type fuel cells, as illustrated in Figure 1, are ...
-
Thermodynamic modelling of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell
This paper presents the thermodynamic modelling of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell at various operating conditions through energy and exergy analyses. In addition, the correlations and equations available in literature were used to determine thermodynamic irreversibilities in the PEM fuel cell at different operating conditions such as cell temperature, pressures of anode and cathode, ...
-
When Communications Africa focuses on energy provision for telecom towers, GenCell offers attractive alternatives
In case you missed it, we encourage you to read the interview with GenCell CEO Rami Reshef in the April edition of Communications Africa. When asked about the role of fuel cells in the very competitive African energy landscape, Mr. Reshef responds, “Fuel cells are playing an integral role in energy generation and storage in Africa, both for rural electrification and for applications in ...
By GenCell Ltd
-
A PEM fuel cell temperature controller design using a thermal equivalent circuit model
In order to control a temperature in the fuel cell system, a thermal equivalent circuit model for PEM fuel cells and its control algorithms are presented. By defining temperature as a state, the energy balance model can be established so that feedback control algorithm can be directly employed. The details of the design of the thermal equivalent circuit model and its control scheme are provided ...
-
Cartridge fuel cells for backup systems
ReliOn, the provider of high reliability fuel cell solutions for backup power applications, formerly known as Avista Labs, and havePOWER, LLC, a leading fuel cell integrator for the telecommunications industry, announced that the State of Ohio has awarded havePOWER a contract for their integrated backup power solution that is built around the ReliOn fuel cell system. The integrated solution will ...
-
Renewable Energy Systems - Case Study
Overview Generating renewable electricity is an important way to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and many countries are installing wind and solar power plants to help meet targets for cutting CO2. One drawback of these energy sources is their variability: the wind tends to blow intermittently and solar power is only available during the daytime. Hence renewable power plants either have to ...
Need help finding the right suppliers? Try XPRT Sourcing. Let the XPRTs do the work for you