Introduction to Fuel Cell technology - Overview

o Fuel cell is a device that takes fuel as input and produces electricity as output
o Converts chemical energy of raw materials into electrical energy
o Different from battery - A fuel cell will keep on producing electricity as long as fuel is
available
o Similar to a chemical factory which transforms raw material(fuel) into final product
(electricity)

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
A simple fuel cell
o Electrochemical half reactions of a H2-O2 fuel cell:

o Electrons transferred from the fuel travel through the external circuit (thus constituting an electric current)
and do useful work before they complete the reaction
o Spatial separation achieved by an electrolyte, a material which allows ions to flow but not electrons

Fig: A simple fuel cell with platinum electrodes dipped in sulphuric acid ( an aqueous acidic electrolyte)

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Basic fuel cell operations

1.Reactant transport
2.Electrochemical reaction
3.(a)Ionic and (b) electronic conduction
4.Product removal

Advantages

o More efficient than combustion engines – directly convert chemical energy to electrical energy
o Mechanically ideal – no moving parts, good reliability, long lasting systems
o Clean and silent operation
o Easy independent scaling between power (determined by fuel cell size) and capacity (determined by fuel
availability)

•Disadvantages
o Cost – a major issue
o Fuel availability and storage
o Durability under stop-start cycles
o Low volumetric power densities as compared to batteries and combustion engines
Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Power density comparison of various technologies

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Fuel cell and Hydrogen economy :
H2 fuel cells coupled with electrolyzers and renewable energy conversion technologies provide
a completely closed loop, pollution free energy economy.

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Types of fuel cells
Major fuel cell technologies

Classification based on type of electrolyte PEMFC PAFC AFC MCFC SOFC

Polymer Liq.H3PO4 Liquid KOH Molten

Electrolyte Ceramic
1.Phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) Membrane immobilized Immobilized carbonate

2.Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell Charge carrier H+ H+ OH- CO32- O2-
(PEMFC) Operating 650-
80 0C 200 0C 60-200 0C 650 0C
1.Alkaline fuel cell (AFC) Temperature 1000 0C

2.Molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) Perovskit

Catalyst Platinum Platinum Platinum Nickel
es
3.Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) Fuel H2, H2 ,CH4,
H H2 H2 ,CH4
Compatibility methanol 2 CO

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Different Types of Fuel Cells

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Fuel Cell Component

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Schematic of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
 Basu, S. (Ed.) Recent Trends in Fuel Cell
Science and Technology, Springer (2007)

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Fuel cell performance
o Fuel cell performance can be assessed by current-voltage curves.
o i-V curves show the voltage output of a fuel cell for a given current
load.
o Ideal fuel cell performance is dictated by thermodynamics
o Real fuel cell performance is always less than ideal fuel cell
performance due to losses.

The major types of loss are :

o Activation loss (losses due to electrochemical reaction)
o Ohmic loss (losses due to ionic and electronic conduction)
o Concentration loss (losses due to mass transport)

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series
Combined fuel cell i-V and power density curve
o Fuel cell power density increases with increasing current density, Reaches a maximum, and
then falls at still higher current densities.
o Fuel cells are designed to operate at or below the power density maximum.
o At current densities below the power density maximum, voltage efficiency improves but power
density falls.
o At current densities above the power density maximum, both voltage efficiency and power
density fall.

Schematic fuel cell polarization (voltage vs. current

density) and power density curves.

Reference: S.M. Haile, Fuel Cell Materials and

Components, Acta Materialia, Vol. 51, 2003, 5981–
6000.

Dr. Sanjeev Gautam (UICET), 4th August, 2020, 2nd Lecture of Online Series