ISSN 1743-3029

THE Volume 2 Issue 2 April/May 2005

FUEL CELL
Europeans want more R&D money
Nanomaterials and cost reduction
Nokia, Motorola: mixed messages

REVIEW
Fuel-cell testing under scrutiny

COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE ON HYDROGEN AND FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES fcr.iop.org

The secrets of
SOFC success

An IOP Emerging Technology Review

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EDITORIAL
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Science & technology reporter
Jonathan Wills
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Belle Dumé, Tami Freeman, Siân
Harris, Hamish Johnston

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THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG 3

LEADER
Policy and funding
The colour of money
More funding for Europe’s fuel-cell R&D activities can only be good for the industry as a whole.
It all seems so depressingly familiar. As this issue went to press,
the British election campaign was moving up through the
gears, with the great and the good (and the not-so-good) going
for the jugular on all the old regulars such as taxation, health-
care, immigration and, of course, the economy. Contrast this
with the deafening silence on environmental issues, and the
role of alternative-energy technologies in particular, which
appear to be little more than an afterthought in the manifestos
of the three main parties (with hydrogen and fuel-cell power a
footnote in those afterthoughts). Such are the short-term
imperatives of domestic political campaigning.
Take a wider perspective, however, and the signals coming
out of Europe are a good deal more encouraging on matters of
fuel-cell R&D and technology transfer. The Second Annual
Conference of the European Hydrogen and Fuel Cell
Technology Platform (HFP) in Brussels, for example, show-
cased two “foundation documents” that are, in effect, a call to
action to European Union (EU) member states (full report p7).
The documents reveal a comprehensive agenda for strategic
research and deployment in hydrogen/fuel cells and propose
that the EU embarks on a 10-year programme to: reduce fuel-
cell system costs by a factor of 10 (up to 100 for transport appli-
cations); enhance the performance and durability of today’s
fuel-cell systems by a factor of two or more; reduce the costs of
Technology transfer
The business of innovation
Incremental improvements versus the big leap forward.
Set the positives of the HFP conference to one side for a
moment, and it’s evident that bigger R&D budgets and grand
visions are no guarantee of success in any emerging-technol-
ogy market. Beyond getting the funding levels right, all that the
policy-makers can realistically do is to (a) create the right con-
ditions in which fundamental innovation can flourish, and (b)
ensure that the commercial environment does not hinder (and
ideally promotes) rapid exploitation of new advances.
Innovation is the key word in all of this, even if it remains one
of those fluid concepts that’s difficult to pin down within an
exact frame of reference. If it’s about anything, though, inno-
vation is about changing the status quo – either in a big way (dis-
ruptive innovation) or, more often than not, in some
incremental way (sustaining innovation).
For the majority of fuel-cell developers, innovation of the
sustaining kind is very much the order of business right now
– whether they’re working on materials, components, fuel-
cell stacks or system engineering. Put another way, there are Joe McEntee, Editor (joe.mcentee@iop.org)
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
hydrogen fuel by a factor of three or more; and achieve com-
petitive hydrogen-storage densities consistent with automo-
bile operating range and design requirements.
Clearly, none of this is going to come cheap, so it’s good to see
that the HFP Advisory Council recommends a significant rise
in public funding (i.e. from Brussels and national governments)
of hydrogen and fuel-cell R&D to around €250 m ($320 m) a
year. If approved, this would bring the EU into line with US and
Japanese government spending on hydrogen and fuel-cell
technologies. Insofar as the HFP was set up by the European
Commission (EC) “to prepare and direct an effective strategy
for bringing hydrogen and fuel cells to market”, it is probably a
fair extrapolation to assume that its recommendations will
have a better-than-evens chance of standing up to scrutiny by
the EC’s policy-wonks in Brussels.
What’s more, with billions of euros soon to be allocated
under the EC’s upcoming Seventh Framework R&D pro-
gramme (2006–2010), it’s possible that fuel-cell developers in
the EU will soon be competing on a level playing field with their
US and Japanese counterparts. That’s not just good news for
Europe, it’s good news for the fuel-cell industry as a whole.
Greater competition can only help to encourage a robust cul-
ture of innovation which, in turn, will fast-track the introduc-
tion of fuel cells into commercial markets.
no short-cuts when it comes to tackling “bread-and-butter”
issues like reliability and lifetime – only the relentless grind
through exhaustive test cycles and the incremental improve-
ments that emerge along the way (see p23). One of the indus-
try’s pioneers, Ballard Power Systems, is clearly banking on
the value of sustaining innovations as a means to achieving
the goals in its newly published Technology Roadmap. “Cost
and durability are the biggest challenges [and] the best way to
address the challenges is incrementally,” says Charles Stone,
the company’s vice-president of R&D, in the Talking Point
interview (p34).
At the same time, Ballard and its peers are aware that there’s a
fine line to be walked here. In one respect, they know that
blockbuster new products and fundamental dislocation aren’t
easy to come by. Equally, they know that the company that
manages to combine both into a single disruptive innovation
could well find itself in pole position to nudge incumbent tech-
nology vendors off their pedestals in the markets for station-
ary, automotive and portable power sources. The trick for
developers large and small is how best to keep on delivering the
incremental improvements and, if the opportunity presents
itself, to be able to act upon that big leap forward as well.
5

NEWS &
ANALYSIS
European policy
The time for talking is over
Europe must get its collective act together. If it doesn’t, it will surely become an also-ran in the race to commercialize fuel cells.
Make no mistake, hydrogen and fuel cells are
coming, and “if they don’t come from Europe
they will come to Europe”. That was the stark
warning issued by Carl-Peter Foster, president
of General Motors Europe, in a keynote address
to more than 500 senior scientists, engineers
and executives who came together in Brussels
in March. It’s hard to argue with Foster’s take –
or his timing. He was speaking at the Second
Annual Conference of the European Hydrogen
and Fuel Cell Technology Platform (HFP), a
European Commission (EC)-sponsored initia-
tive with a remit to coordinate and accelerate
hydrogen and fuel-cell activity across the 25
countries of the European Union (EU).
The backdrop to the conference, and the
focus for the ensuing presentations and debate,
was the publication of two “foundation docu-
ments” drawn up by a committee of experts on
the HFP Advisory Council. The Strategic
Research Agenda and Deployment Strategy are
effectively a call to action. They propose that the
EU embarks on a 10-year programme to: reduce
fuel-cell system costs by a factor of 10 (up to 100
for transport applications); enhance the per-
formance and durability of today’s fuel-cell sys-
tems by a factor of two or more; reduce the costs
of hydrogen fuel by a factor of three or more;
and achieve competitive hydrogen-storage den-
sities consistent with automobile operating
range and design requirements.
Show me the money
Sounds good. But what about the money? In
2005, the US and Japanese governments will
each spend in excess of €250 m ($320 m) on
hydrogen and fuel-cell R&D. That’s approxi-
mately double the amount allocated jointly by
the EC in Brussels and European governments.
The EU needs to match the US and Japan in
terms of public funding, says the HFP, and
establish “a multi-stakeholder, public-private
partnership, charged with implementing an
integrated R&D programme” (figure 1 p8).
“It is crucial that the cumulative RTD spend-
ing, including from a European JTI [Joint
Technology Initiative], at least matches current
RTD funding levels of major global competi-
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
Taken for a ride: the HFP meeting wasn’t all
about worthy debate, good food and fine
wines. Beyond the well-appointed halls of the
EC’s Charlemagne Building, the HFP hosted
an exhibition of hydrogen and fuel-cell
prototypes at the nearby Autoworld
Museum. Fuel-cell vehicles from Peugeot,
Michelin and DaimlerChrysler, among
others, were available for attendees to test-
drive around the streets of the Belgian capital.
Air Liquide set up a temporary hydrogen-
filling station for the ‘ride and drive’.
Also in this section
8 Fuel cells and education
9 Nokia’s mixed messages
10 A new wave of sea power
11 Californian vehicle trials
tors – especially [in] the US and Japan,”
explained Jeremy Bentham, chief executive of
Shell Hydrogen and chairman of the HFP
Advisory Council. “The JTI would be a unique
opportunity to coordinate funding from vari-
ous sources, possibly including structured
loans, for some specific demonstrations linked
to early niche markets.”
At the same time, says Bentham, EU member
states must work together rather than in isola-
tion so as to avoid repeatedly “reinventing the
wheel”. He added: “If our next move sees us
having a few vehicles scattered in every state in
Europe, we’ll end up going nowhere fast.”
There was also a reminder to European man-
ufacturing industry about its responsibilities
concerning hydrogen and fuel-cell technolo-
gies. “It is time for industry to step up its com-
mitment,” said Janez Potocnik, European
Science and Research Commissioner, in his
opening address to the conference. “The
research community needs to create knowl-
edge. The Union needs to foster a favourable
political environment, and when commerce
sees all these elements in place, the real money
will flow. I pledge my support and count on you
all to help make it happen.”
Early adopters
So much for the grand objectives. In matters of
technology transfer and pan-European collab-
oration, however, the devil will always be in the
fine detail (though to be fair, there’s plenty of
that in the HFP’s Strategic Research Agenda and
Deployment Strategy papers). The foundation
documents take a view out as far as 2050, but
also identify what’s been called “Snapshot 2020”
– key EU milestones, alongside illustrative levels
of market penetration, that should be achieved
for portable, stationary and transport fuel-cell
applications by 2020 (table 1 p8).
Although the automotive market remains out
of reach for at least the coming decade, says the
HFP, fuel cells are already approaching com-
mercialization in some niche applications – for
example, solid-oxide fuel cells for semi-portable
or “luggable” applications such as electronic
advertisement boards and refrigerated food and
7
NEWS & ANALYSIS
socio-economics
portable transport
applications applications
10% 3%
27%
18%
22%
20%
hydrogen storage hydrogen production
and distribution
stationary applications
Figure 1: Big money – the HFP Advisory
Council is pushing for EU public-sector
funding of 7250 m a year on hydrogen and
fuel-cell R&D. It recommends that nearly 50%
of the budget be allocated to work on transport
applications and hydrogen production.
drink dispensers (see p30).
What’s more, in the next five years it is likely
that fuel cells will find homes in specialist vehi-
cles like fork-lift trucks, restricted passenger
transport and underground-mine railway
transport. By this time, the HFP also expects
that direct-methanol fuel cells will be entering
the portable-electronics marketplace, provid-
ing power in applications such as mobile
phones and laptop computers (see p9). In fact,
early market penetration is expected to be
driven by the small portable sector. Large, sta-
tionary combined-heat-and-power (CHP) fuel-
cell systems will probably enter the market
around 2010 to 2015, with mass roll-out of
hydrogen-based road transport expected to get
going in around 2015 to 2020 – a view sup-
ported by major car manufacturers presenting
at the Brussels conference.
Another notable aspect of the HFP’s think-
Public understanding
Education, education
The general public needs to know more
about hydrogen and fuel cells. Creative
vendors are lining up to help.
Education proved to be one of the headline
themes at the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Platform
meeting in Brussels in March (see previous arti-
cle). More specifically, any future hydrogen
economy and the long-term health of the
world’s environment are intimately tied to
public acceptance and awareness of energy-
efficiency and pollution issues. That means,
amongst other things, the need for a positive
public perception and understanding of
hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies.
With this in mind, two German companies,
8 THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
Table 1. Snapshot 2020 – HFP projections for fuel-cell adoption by 2020
Portable fuel Portable generators Stationary fuel
cells for handheld and early markets
electronic devices
EU H2/FC units ~250 million ~100 000
sold per year
projection 2020
EU cumulative n/a ~600 000
sales predictions
until 2020
Average power FC established established
system
FC system target ¤1–2/W ¤500/kW
cost
ing is seen in its call for funding and deploy-
ment of large-scale field demonstrations called
“lighthouse projects”. “As mini-networks of
consumer-friendly fuel outlets, serving hun-
dreds of fuel-cell vehicles, lighthouse projects
will play a crucial role in bridging the gap
between R&D projects and commercializa-
tion,” Bentham told the conference. The
German industrial-gas specialist Linde, for
example, proposes the construction of a
European hydrogen ring road, similar to proj-
ects under construction in California and
Florida (see p11). Running to around 1800 km,
the route would start as a German hydrogen
ring road, connecting the largest hydrogen
users and developers – in particular, the car
manufacturers, from Volkswagen in the north
to General Motors and Ford in the west and
BMW and DaimlerChrysler in the south.
If built, such a road will give car makers the
Heliocentris and H-Tec, are seeking to carve a
niche for themselves by fast-tracking the wider
understanding of all things fuel cell, especially
among school and university students. Both
were in Brussels to exhibit their “Meccano-
style” model kits, including working fuel cells
and water electrolysers.
Among the products available from the two
vendors are fuel-cell-powered model cars.
These simple units employ an external power-
supply from a mains adapter or a solar cell to
electrolyse distilled water. The resulting hydro-
gen and oxygen are stored onboard the mod-
els, and used to generate power once the fuel
cell is connected to the drive motor of the car.
Also available are “executive-toy” desktop fuel-
cell systems retailing at around €100 ($130).
H-Tec offers products for schools ranging
in price from €100 (simple models) to a few
thousand euros (for larger kits including more
Road transport
cells CHP
100 000 to 0.4 million to
200 000 1.8 million
400 000 to n/a
800 000
growth mass-market
roll-out
¤2000/kW (micro) <¤100/kW
¤1000–1500/kW (for 150 000
(industrial) units per year)
opportunity to do some real-world long-dis-
tance testing of their hydrogen-fuelled vehicles
(whether they’re based on fuel cells or internal
combustion engines). Five public hydrogen-
filling stations are already in use along the
route, though a further 35 or more stations
would need to be built. The total cost for the
ring road would be around €30 m, says Linde.
All in all, the HFP meeting will have given the
great and the good of the fuel-cell community
plenty to think about now that they’re back in
their boardrooms, manufacturing plants and
R&D laboratories across Europe. As Jeremy
Bentham noted, the hydrogen and fuel-cell
economy is no longer simply an ideal or a
vision to aspire to: “It is within our sights,
borne out by the wealth of demonstration
projects now taking place worldwide,” he said.
Jonathan Wills, Brussels, and Joe
McEntee, Bristol
powerful fuel cells). Heliocentris takes its
range of products further with advanced
experiment and demonstration kits aimed at
undergraduate and graduate students. At the
top end, its Nexa educational packages come
with a 1.2 kW air-cooled Ballard fuel cell,
along with all necessary fuel, electrical and
control interfaces, and control and data-log-
ging software. Some advanced kits include
computer interfaces and solid-state-hydride
hydrogen-storage tanks.
Basic fuel-cell car kits from Heliocentris sell
for less than €150. The company’s multicom-
ponent kits (designed for schools) are available
for a few hundred euros, while more advanced,
university-targeted products can cost in the
region of €20 000.
● For more information, see www.H-Tec.com
and www.heliocentris.com.
Jonathan Wills, Brussels
 NEWS & ANALYSIS

Wireless communications

Mixed messages from Nokia

Cellphone giant Nokia appears to have broken ranks with its competitors and put fuel cells on hold.

There was much consternation in the micro-

fuel-cell community last month when it was
widely reported that Nokia was halting its fuel-
cell development programme. The reports said
that the Finnish cellphone manufacturer had
shelved plans to commercialize fuel-cell tech-
nology, citing a number of problems including
the current immaturity of the technology and
the fact that methanol cannot be carried on
passenger aircraft.
There was no disguising what looks like a
conclusive U-turn from the world’s leading
mobile-phone maker, which had hitherto been
making positive noises about fuel cells. Indeed,
in June 2004, Nokia demonstrated a prototype
wireless headset powered by a direct-methanol
fuel cell (DMFC), with one of its senior
researchers going so far as to predict that the
technology would be commercialized in 2006.
Despite downplaying the commercializa-
tion of fuel cells, however, the March
announcement suggests that Nokia will con-
tinue to monitor the technology. The Fuel Cell
Review asked Nokia spokesperson Maarit
Matikka to clarify the situation. “Nokia still
considers fuel cells to be a promising comple-
mentary power-supply to batteries,” she said.
However, she added: “Lithium-ion batteries are
the best technology at the moment.”
Matikka stressed that although the Finnish
company has demonstrated a fuel-cell-pow-
ered wireless device, “Nokia did not commit to
commercialization”, and that it is far too early
to discuss a commercialization roadmap.
Nevertheless, she says that Nokia is continuing
basic fuel-cell research at several facilities
worldwide and that it will monitor any changes
to the situation regarding the transport of
methanol on aircraft (The Fuel Cell Review Dec
2004/Jan 2005 p7).
Carry on regardless
While Nokia is taking a cautionary approach to
fuel-cell R&D, its leading competitor,
Motorola, remains bullish on the technology.
“Motorola’s fuel-cell research programme is
still running and in fact we’ve added resources
to it in the past few months,” said Jerry
Hallmark, manager of energy technologies at
Motorola Labs – Microelectronics and Physical
Sciences. “If everything goes well,” he added,
“the earliest we expect that methanol fuel car-
tridges could be allowed on passenger airliners
is 2007. This effectively means that there won’t
Batteries included: Nokia’s official stance on fuel cells has cooled noticeably this year.
be a significant consumer market for fuel cells
until at least 2007.”
Hallmark believes that by then, the industry
will have made significant progress in devel-
oping standards for micro fuel cells. “The first
micro-fuel-cell standards will probably be
released in Q3 of 2005 for comment, with
another six to 12 months before they are offi-
cially adopted,” he said. In the near term, fuel
cells could find a possible niche market in
chargers for mobile-phone batteries. “This is
the easiest application from a technical stand-
point,” said Hallmark.
What’s more, Hallmark reckons that prod-
ucts for the industrial sector, which would not
be affected by aircraft restrictions, will be avail-
able much sooner. Indeed, MTI MicroFuel Cells,
US, has already announced that it has inte-
grated its Mobion DMFC into a commercial
radiofrequency ID (RFID) tag reader produced
by Intermec, US. MTI has also just announced
that Mobion technology will be used in
portable military electronic devices by 2006.
Commenting on the effect of the Nokia
announcement on the micro-fuel-cell indus-
try, MTI’s vice-president and chief technology
officer Shimshon Gottesfeld told The Fuel Cell
Review: “Irrespective of one opinion or
another... there is such market pull [that] micro
fuel cells will happen, very possibly sooner
rather than later.” Gottesfeld believes that the
handheld electronics industry is now at a trans-
ition point, where the increased energy
requirements of video-enabled mobile phones
are acting as a catalyst for the introduction of
new higher-capacity power sources.
Indeed, in Japan, which leads the world in
the uptake of power-hungry mobile data serv-
ices, two leading network operators are
involved in the development of fuel-cell-pow-
ered handsets. NTT DoCoMo has joined
forces with Fujitsu to produce a prototype
methanol-powered micro-fuel-cell charging
cradle for its 3G handsets. The device was
unveiled in September 2004 and an updated
version is expected by the end of this year.
Also in mid-2004, the Japanese operator
KDDI partnered with Toshiba and Hitachi in
a bid to develop a commercial fuel-cell power
source for mobile phones by the end of 2005.
Both Hitachi and Toshiba have their own pro-
grammes to develop DMFCs for use in
portable electronics.
Right now, most industry insiders agree that
methanol is the fuel of choice for fuel-cell-
powered mobile phones. Motorola’s Hallmark
explained: “Methanol has very high energy-
density, so methanol fuel cells will likely have
an advantage in system energy-density.” He
added that DMFCs and reformed methanol
fuel cells “certainly have more companies
working on them [compared to other fuels], so
they appear likely to succeed”.
Hamish Johnston

THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG 9

NEWS & ANALYSIS

Military

Tomorrow’s battles
The US Navy believes that fuel cells can help it cut operational expenditure while enhancing the tactical effectiveness of its fleet.

For all the talk about military applications of

fuel cells, much of it is focused on the needs of
land-based forces, which means it is some-
times easy to forget that there are compelling
drivers for the deployment of fuel-cell tech-
nologies at sea as well. “There are two primary
reasons for putting fuel cells on naval ships,”
Anthony Nickens of the US Navy’s Office of
Naval Research (ONR) told The Fuel Cell Review.
“The first is fuel savings; the second is that fuel
cells could form the basis of a distributed
power-generation system.”
Fuel economy is a big issue for the US Navy as
most of its surface combat ships are powered by
gas turbines, which are not very efficient when
the vessel is moving at slower speeds. The tur-
bines generate electricity to power the entire
ship, including the propulsion system.
Intriguingly, the drawbacks of such a centralized
architecture could open the door to the devel- Breaking the waves: an artist’s impression of the US Navy’s next-generation DD(X) warship.
opment of hybrid systems, which are powered Military strategists are reportedly “very interested” in fuel-cell technology.
by a combination of turbines and fuel cells. “Fuel
cells can really make a difference in this situation
mized in terms of cost, weight, volume and is based on FuelCell Energy’s natural-gas-pow-
with regards to fuel savings,” Nickens added. efficiency. The programme is concentrating ered Direct Carbonate Fuel Cell (DFC) technol-
While turbines, as operated by the Navy, much of its effort on two systems: one is a ogy, which has been adapted for use with naval
achieve an average fuel-efficiency of 15–18%, 625 kW molten-carbonate fuel-cell (MCFC) fuel. After the completion of production test-
fuel cells can operate at 30% or greater effi- generator; the other is a fuel processor ing at FuelCell Energy’s facilities, Nickens is
ciency. In a hybrid system, turbines would gen-designed for a 500 kW polymer-electrolyte- confident that the system will be delivered to
erate most of the power when the ship is membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Both are the US Navy’s NAVSEA facility in Philadelphia
cruising at high speeds, because this is when designed to operate on NATO F-76 distillate later this year for further onshore testing.
they are at their most efficient. At slower (diesel) fuel, which is widely used by the US The reforming process employs waste heat
speeds, and when in port, fuel cells would gen-Navy. The problem is that this fuel can contain from the stack, which means the system can
erate most of the power. According to Nickens, as much as 1% sulphur, and this concentration achieve nearly 50% thermal efficiency over a
this hybrid configuration would maximize the must be reduced to about 1 part per million wide range of power output levels. The fuel is
efficiency of both systems. Using fuel cells before F-76 can be used in a fuel cell. processed by hydrosulphurization followed by
exclusively at high speeds would require about One of the principal objectives of the SSFC adiabatic conversion to a methane-rich gas that
75 MW, which would be tough to achieve on a programme is to design fuel-processing sys- is subjected to internal reforming. This config-
ship using current technology. tems that can make use of commercial fuel-cell uration minimizes the modifications that must
Another attraction of the hybrid approach isstacks with a minimum of modification. In this be made to the commercial fuel-cell stack. The
that it’s compatible with the creation of a dis-
regard, the sulphur-rich fuel must go through a system contains two stacks that together
tributed power-generation system, with banks two-step process: first, the sulphur is removed deliver 250–400 V DC to a power-conditioning
of fuel cells located throughout a warship. “Soand then the fuel is reformed to produce hydro- system (for conversion to AC). The fuel cell will
if the ship takes a hit somewhere, the power- gen or methane for use in the fuel cell. “This be installed in parallel with the ship service
generation system can be automatically recon- [fuel-processing] equipment takes up a great 450 V AC bus.
figured, which would increase the vessel’s deal of volume,” said Nickens, adding that “size The other main strand of the ONR’s fuel-cell
survivability,” explained Nickens. This is diffi-
is a key technology challenge with warships, activity is the development of an integrated
cult to do with gas turbines because they have because there is not much space on board.” logistic fuel processor (ILFP) to convert F-76
substantial air requirements and so can only be The MCFC fuel-processing system employs fuel to hydrogen for use in a 500 kW PEM fuel-
installed in a limited number of locations. dual regenerative hydrogen-sulphide sorbent cell system. The ILFP is being built and tested
reactors and a pre-former. This set-up pro- under the supervision of SOFCo EFC Holdings,
A new take on sea power duces a sulphur-free, methane-rich reformate with engineering and test facilities provided by
With all of this in mind, the US Navy’s Ship gas stream that is suitable for internal reform- the Idaho National Laboratory. The processor
Service Fuel Cell (SSFC) programme is seeking ing in a fuel-cell unit supplied by FuelCell is fully integrated, comprising an autothermal
to develop shipboard fuel cells that are opti- Energy of Danbury, Connecticut. The system reformer, dual regenerative desulphurizers

10 THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG


and carbon-monoxide reduction reactors. It
also includes dual turbo compressors, a steam
generator, heat recovery and an automatic con-
trol system. The unit is currently undergoing
preliminary testing at the Idaho facility, but
Nickens says that a “slight systems problem”
has stopped work temporarily. Prior to this,
however, the system’s sulphur-tolerant
autothermal reformer and desulphurizing
beds had been demostrated successfully.
In parallel, the ONR is also involved in the
development of several other fuel-processing
technologies, which Nickens describes as
being at the “bench-top phase”. Projects
include the development of a 50 kW compact
fuel fractionator and liquid-fuel desulphuriz-
ers; the use of nano zinc-oxide technology to
reduce the size of zinc-oxide bends used in the
desulphurization process; development and
testing of microlith catalysts for use in
autothermal reformers; and development of a
50 kW water-gas-shift reactor and a new mem-
brane material for hydrogen purification.
While the ONR is focused on the early stages
of fuel-cell development, Nickens says that the
ship-acquisition end of the US Navy’s opera-
tions is keen to evaluate the technology on
seagoing ships. “The DD(X) warship pro-
gramme [which is building the next generation
of US Navy destroyers] is very interested in
fuel-cell technology, but I really don’t have any
dates at this time,” he explained.
Hamish Johnston
Field trials
Drive time in the OC
Commuters in California are putting fuel-cell vehicles to the test.
Senior executives in Orange County, California,
are making plenty of positive noises about the
Toyota fuel-cell hybrid vehicles (FCHVs) that
they have been road-testing for more than two
years. Described as the first independent test
and evaluation of fuel-cell vehicles, the ongoing
trial commenced in late 2002 and is being run
by the National Fuel Cell Research Center
(NFCRC) in Irvine, California. The NFCRC has
leased two FCHVs from Toyota and has sub-
leased the vehicles to two California businesses
for use by their executives.
Jack Brouwer, NFCRC associate director,
says the vehicles are used primarily for the
commute to work. “We wanted to look at the
most typical vehicle-use pattern in southern
California,” Brouwer told The Fuel Cell Review.
“We could have put the vehicles into a service
role and achieved higher mileage and perhaps
more rapid feedback, but it is very important
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
Shipping lanes
Unlike naval vessels, most large commercial
ships do not employ turbines and electric
propulsion systems, but highly efficient two-
stroke diesel engines. Consequently, they would
not benefit nearly as much from the
deployment of fuel cells.
Nevertheless, Gunter Sattler, who is
managing director of HDW – Fuel Cell Systems,
believes that fuel cells could fit the bill in several
specialist applications. Sattler’s company
develops fuel-cell technology for marine and
other applications and is a subsidiary of the
German shipbuilder HDW, which has built
several fuel-cell-powered submarines.
“A ferry would be a very good first application
for fuel cells,” said Sattler, “especially ferries that
make very short journeys, which could operate
on pure hydrogen.” Sattler says that many large
ferry ports have pollution problems. A large
ferry could require as much as 2 MW of power
just for use at the dock, and in some ports there
are 10 ships in port at a time. This is a significant
source of pollution, which could be greatly
reduced by deploying fuel cells. “The same
applies to cruise liners, which have even higher
energy needs,” added Sattler.
HDW is developing a 120 kW fuel-cell system
that will be ready for operation this spring.The
containerized system will be taken on board
Gas guzzlers: the FCHVs are currently fuelled
at the University of California’s Irvine campus.
Gaseous hydrogen is trucked into the station
(above) and then stored on site.
NEWS & ANALYSIS
Cruise control: fuel cells could cut pollutant
emissions from cruise liners in port.
different ships to gain experience of operating a
fuel-cell system at sea.
On a much smaller scale, HDW is looking at
using fuel cells to power the small ferries that
operate on the lakes in Hamburg, Germany.
Other possible candidates are the larger ferries
that cross the River Elbe at Hamburg. “We are in
discussions with the Hamburg authorities
regarding these applications,” said Sattler.
for us and Toyota to understand how regular
consumers will respond to fuel-cell vehicles.”
Indeed, with most other trials addressing
service applications, Brouwer believes that
the Orange Country programme will make a
valuable contribution to the body of knowl-
edge on FCHV use.
According to an NFCRC progress report, the
drivers found the FCHVs to be quiet and reli-
able and described the driving performance as
excellent – with one exception being the delay
of several minutes between start-up and the
availability of full power. One driver was con-
cerned that the low noise levels could be a
potential source of danger to pedestrians and
suggested that artificial noise be generated to
warn persons nearby.
The drivers also felt that the range of the
vehicles could be increased and expressed con-
cern about the fact that there is currently only
11
NEWS & ANALYSIS

one hydrogen fuelling station in Orange the NFCRC programme is set to increase intensive process. According to Brouwer, “the
County. The development and utilization of a (another FCHV from Toyota is expected challenge is to provide local, inexpensive and
hydrogen refuelling infrastructure is a key ele- shortly). And then there’s the California environmentally sensitive hydrogen”. With
ment of the NFCRC study, however. The vehi- Hydrogen Highway Network initiative, which this in mind, NFCRC scientists are evaluating
cles are currently refuelled at a station at the aims to deploy 150–200 hydrogen fuelling sta- the possibility of generating hydrogen from
University of California’s Irvine campus. tions across the state by 2010 (with Orange wind and solar energy, as well as natural gas
Gaseous hydrogen is trucked into the station, County stations forming part of the project). and the electricity grid. “At this moment,” said
storage and refuelling equipment for which is The NFCRC is also looking at ways of gener- Brouwer, “it looks like solar energy would be
supplied by Air Products and Chemicals. The ating hydrogen locally using a range of power the most appropriate for Orange County in
station is funded by Toyota. sources. Local generation is attractive because terms of renewable sources.”
the transportation of hydrogen is an energy- Hamish Johnston
Out on the streets
The FCHVs used are based on the Toyota
Highlander sports utility vehicle, with a top
speed of 155 km/h and a range of 290 km. They
are powered by a 90 kW polymer-electrolyte-
membrane fuel-cell stack and an 81 kW elec-
tric motor. There’s also a regenerative braking
system to convert braking energy into electri-
cal energy. The first vehicle, which is used pri-
marily by one driver, was delivered to the
NFCRC in December 2002. A second vehicle
followed a year later and is being used by a
number of people.
The first FCHV was driven more than
12 000 km in 18 months and achieved an aver-
age fuel economy of 62 km/kg. The second vehi-
cle travelled almost 4000 km in six months,
achieving an average fuel economy of 55 km/kg.
Brouwer was unable to explain exactly why the
vehicles achieved different fuel economies, but
speculated that it could simply be down to dif-
ferent driving habits on the part of the users.
Both vehicles travelled an average of 95 km
between refuelling stops – much less than the
range of 290 km. According to Josh Mauzey, a
senior research engineer responsible for the
NFCRC’s FCHV and hydrogen activities, driv-
ers refuelled their vehicles whenever they were
near the fuelling station, rather than when they
were running low on hydrogen. Consequently,
this fuelling behaviour should not be used to
predict the usage of stations in a wide-scale
hydrogen infrastructure. “As the stations
spread out, the fuelling patterns would start to
more closely resemble fuelling patterns of
gasoline or diesel vehicles,” explained Mauzey.
The NFCRC plans to deploy three additional
stations in Orange County – an “anchor” station
in Irvine and two mobile stations in Anaheim
and Huntington Beach. Furthermore, Brouwer
believes the build-out of a hydrogen infrastruc-
ture in Orange Country is going to be essential
because “we expect there to be significant num-
bers of additional hydrogen vehicles on the road
in southern California”. He cites three main rea-
sons for this. First, the US Department of
Energy’s hydrogen fuel-cell demonstration pro-
grammes will be testing three fleets of vehicles
in California (one programme alone will involve
60 vehicles). Secondly, the number of vehicles in

12 THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG

R&D FOCUS
Highlights of cutting-edge research, development and innovation.
Supercapacitors: a souped-up success
Davis, CA: Supercapacitors store
energy in a similar way to ordinary
capacitors, only with a vastly supe-
rior charge capacity – several
orders of magnitude greater, in
fact. Now, however, supercapaci-
tors themselves are on course to
get even better thanks to the devel-
opment of carefully tailored car-
bon-nanotube electrodes that
deliver a significant hike in power
density, a key figure of merit for
any energy-storage device likely to
find its way into hybrid-electric
and fuel-cell vehicles.
The work is being pioneered by
researchers at the University of
California, Davis (UCD), US, who
report construction of superca-
pacitors with specific power den-
sities up to 30 kW/kg, compared
with 4 kW/kg for commercially
available products and 20 kW/kg
in devices described by other lab-
oratories. Writing in the journal
Nanotechnology (16 (2005) 350), the
Cheaper catalysts are second nature
Norwich, UK: Scientists at the
John Innes Centre (JIC) in the UK
report that they have successfully
synthesized the active iron–
sulphur core found at the heart of
enzymes that catalyse the
reversible production of electri-
city from hydrogen in living sys-
tems (Nature 433 (2005) 613). The
work is significant because it
points the way to alternative fuel-
cell catalysts based on abundant
elements, rather than costly pre-
cious metals like platinum and
palladium.
“This is an exciting early step in
developing a sustainable system
for producing electricity from
hydrogen,” Chris Pickett, associate
head of the biological chemistry
department at JIC, told The Fuel Cell
Review. “We expect the research to
lead to stable, effective catalysts in
the next five to seven years.”
He added: “In nature, iron–sul-
phur enzymes catalyse a range of
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
scientists point out that their
“preparation procedure is very
simple... does not require any
binders”, and yields supercapaci-
tors that are “ideal for surge-power
delivery applications”.
A number of other research
groups are known to be exploiting
carbon nanotubes to dramatically
increase the surface area (and
therefore the charge-storage capa-
bility) of supercapacitor electrodes.
However, the way in which those
nanotubes are incorporated into
the electrodes is equally important.
Pan and co-workers use chemical-
vapour deposition to grow multi-
wall nanotubes, after which
hydrofluoric and hydrochloric
acids cleanse the nanotubes and
remove any impurities.
The purified and functionalized
product is then suspended in
dimethylformamide; this colloidal
suspension remains stable for
many months without aggregation
Bonded: the synthetic analogue of the hydrogenase enzyme active site.
important chemical reactions that
industry can only do by using pre-
cious metal catalysts and/or high
temperatures and pressures.” The
active site of, for example, iron-
only hydrogenase enzyme is
known to catalyse the intercon-
version of protons and electrons
with hydrogen at extraordinarily
high rates. Consequently, prepa-
Tightly knit: Ning Pan (left) and his
UCD team are exploiting carbon
nanotubes in order to develop
supercapacitor electrodes with
huge surface areas.
and is used to deposit a thin emul-
sion of carbon nanotubes onto
nickel foil, which acts as a current
collector. The patented technique
gives rise to an extremely low inter-
nal resistance of the electrode and
contact resistance between the
ration of synthetic analogues of
this active site, known as the H-
cluster, has long been a target for
inorganic chemists.
The structure of such catalytic
sites in the enzyme iron-only
hydrogenase, found in the bacte-
ria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans and
Clostridium pasteurianum, was first
elucidated in the late 1990s.
electrode and current collector.
“The technique we developed is
suitable for mass production; we
consider this the advantage differ-
entiating our approach from oth-
ers,” team leader Ning Pan told The
Fuel Cell Review. “Right now, we are
working on improving the capac-
itance. Once this problem is over-
come, only technical issues will
remain, such as how to seal and
package the device. The high-
power delivery performance has
been excellent. We would not be
surprised to see the product com-
mercialized in two to five years.”
In contrast with traditional
capacitors, in which charge is
stored in metal plates separated by
an insulating material, superca-
pacitor electrode plates are sus-
pended within an electrolyte, with
a voltage applied across them.
Charge separation is determined
by the size of the ions in the elec-
trolyte and can be as little as 1 nm.
However, early synthesis efforts
were all unsuccessful.
The H-cluster consists of a nor-
mal, cube-shaped arrangement of
four iron atoms and four sulphur
atoms bridged to a second unit
containing two iron atoms sur-
rounded by ligands such as car-
bon monoxide and cyanide. The
JIC product is an analogue of this
structure and has been shown to
catalyse the reduction of protons
to hydrogen.
For now, the efficiency of the
synthetic cluster is very low,
although the researchers are con-
fident that their work will lead to
new materials with much higher
efficiencies. A Comment piece in
the same issue of Nature notes:
“The synthesis method described
by Pickett and colleagues resolves
the ‘black box’ spectral signals of
the active centre of hydrogenase,
and points towards a next genera-
tion of bioinspired catalysts.”
13
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 FEATURE: RESEARCH

The secrets of
SOFC success
J EFFRY W S TEVENSON , P RABHAKAR S INGH AND S UBHASH C S INGHAL
Developers are exploiting lower operating temperatures in order to accelerate cost
reduction and power improvements in solid-oxide fuel cells.

SOLID -OXIDE fuel cells (SOFCs) offer a number of advantages

ALL PHOTOGRAPH S: PNNL

over other fuel-cell technologies, such as those based on alka-
line, polymer and molten-carbonate chemistries. Fuel flexibil-
ity, solid-state construction, an invariant (solid) electrolyte,
high-quality waste heat and the absence of precious metals are
some of the more compelling characteristics of this emerging
technology. “Emerging” is the key word here, however. For in
spite of their obvious potential, SOFCs have some way to go
before they can be considered a viable commercial alternative
in the power-generation market-place.
With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that the
international R&D effort, which has been under way since the
1960s, has accelerated significantly over the last 10 years. One
of the primary drivers of this activity is the advent of new mat-
erials and fabrication techniques that enable a significant
reduction in the operating temperature of SOFCs from their
traditional regime around 1000 °C. Lowering the operating
temperature is important on several levels. It opens the way for
the replacement of expensive ceramic interconnects with
cheaper alloy interconnects; it reduces demands on balance-
of-plant materials; and it simplifies thermal management
(reduced cathode-air preheating requirements and smaller ∆T
associated with thermal cycles, for example).
Generally speaking, however, the electrical power delivered
by a fuel cell will decrease as the operating temperature
decreases, primarily because of increases in the electrolyte-
membrane resistance and less favourable oxygen-reduction
kinetics at the cathode–electrolyte interface. That said, Stay focused: innovative design and fabrication techniques will
improved cathode materials, high-conductivity electrolyte be needed if SOFCs are to one day compete on price:performance
materials (doped ceria and lanthanum gallate) and the devel- with existing power-generation technologies. Scientists at Pacific
opment of techniques for fabricating extremely thin electrolyte Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), for example, are using a
membranes have helped to achieve substantially enhanced laser cutter to enable rapid prototyping of SOFC geometries
power densities from SOFCs in the so-called intermediate- without the additional cost of stamping dies.
temperature range (nominally 650–800 ºC). This in turn
enables developers to take advantage of the benefits associated robust SOFC stack seals; alloy interconnects for SOFC stacks;
with a lower system operating temperature. contact materials for electrode–interconnect interfaces; under-
A number of technological challenges need to be tackled, how- standing/eliminating the effect of Cr from the metallic intercon-
ever, before intermediate-temperature SOFCs (IT-SOFCs) can nect on cathodes; and SOFC cell/stack design optimization. The
become a commercial reality. The requirements are: optimized purpose of the following sections is to evaluate these challenges
cathode materials; advanced sulphur/carbon-tolerant anodes; and review the latest efforts to address them.
▲

THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG 15

RESEARCH
Optimized cathode materials
Minimizing cathodic polarization losses is one of the biggest
challenges to be met if high, stable power densities are to be
obtained from IT-SOFCs. Cathodic polarization exhibits high
activation energy relative to the other internal power losses (e.g.
electrolyte ohmic losses), so improving cathode performance
becomes increasingly important as the targeted SOFC operat-
ing temperature is reduced.
The stringent cathode requirements greatly restrict the num-
ber of likely candidate materials, however. In particular, the
cathode material must be stable in air at the SOFC operating
temperature. It must also combine high electronic conductiv-
ity, high catalytic activity for oxygen molecule dissociation and
oxygen reduction, and a thermal expansion compatible with
the SOFC electrolyte (which is usually yttria-stabilized zirco-
nia, YSZ). Chemical interactions with the electrolyte and inter-
connect materials must be minimal. Finally, the cathode
material must have a stable, porous microstructure so that
gaseous oxygen can readily diffuse through the cathode to the
cathode–electrolyte interface.
For high-temperature SOFCs operating at around 1000 ºC,
the preferred cathode material is a perovskite oxide, lanthanum
manganite (LaMnO3), which, when doped with an appropriate
amount of Ca or Sr, offers adequate electrical conductivity and
electrocatalytic activity, a reasonable thermal-expansion
match to YSZ, and stability in the SOFC cathode operating
environment. For SOFCs operating at substantially lower tem-
peratures, such as 650–800 ºC, alternative cathode materials
must be developed and optimized, since lanthanum manganite
does not appear to be a satisfactory choice owing (at least in
part) to its low ionic conductivity and slow surface-oxygen
exchange kinetics.
A number of alternative perovskite compositions – typically
containing La on the A site, and transition metals such as Co,
Fe and/or Ni on the B site – have received attention in this
regard. In general, they offer higher oxygen-ion diffusion rates
and faster oxygen-reduction kinetics at the electrode–elec-
trolyte interface compared with lanthanum manganite.
Researchers report promising results using these materials,
though in many cases the improved cathodic performance
decreases during cell lifetime as a result of chemical or
microstructural instability.
Cathode degradation: the role of Cr
Several research groups have reported long-term degradation
of SOFC performance owing to the presence of volatile Cr
species in the cathode environment. While the results of
those studies differ in terms of the specifics, there is general
agreement that interaction of chromium vapour species (e.g.
CrO3, CrO2(OH)2) with the cathode materials can lead to bulk
reaction and/or surface deposition of Cr oxides in the vicin-
ity of the cathode–electrolyte interface, decreasing the cell’s
electrical performance.
While these studies are an obvious source of concern, the
impact of the phenomenon on commercial SOFC stacks is
unclear. After all, Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation,
16
US, reports very stable performance at 900–1000 ºC for its
tubular cells, which incorporate a doped lanthanum-
chromite interconnect and modified lanthanum-manganite
cathode. At lower operating temperatures, Cr volatility from
the oxide scales grown on metallic alloy interconnects is a
problem , but not all Cr-containing oxides liberate volatile Cr
species at the same rate, so appropriate tailoring of the scale
chemistry may be helpful. If necessary, other mitigation
strategies could be employed, involving, for example, a reduc-
tion in Cr vapour pressure and flux during stack operation
and/or the development of Cr-tolerant cathode materials.
Possible approaches include:
● The use of suitable surface layers on alloy interconnects to
reduce Cr evaporation: La-chromites, Mn-chromite and
non-Cr-containing oxides such as (Mn,Co)3O4 can reduce
the Cr flux during the operation of a cell or stack. Such
layers could potentially be applied either in a separate
fabrication step (e.g. thermal spray) or grown in situ
through suitable modification of the alloy bulk or surface.
● Gettering of Cr vapour present in the gas phase: another
possibility is the use of gettering materials to collect the Cr
before it makes its way to the cathode–electrolyte
interface. It should be noted that getters may have limited
capacity for Cr and hence may only prove useful in
situations where the high Cr volatility occurs during the
early stages of the stack lifetime but then decreases with
time, possibly due to the in situ evolution of an oxide scale
with minimal or no Cr volatility.
Sulphur/carbon-tolerant anodes
The traditional SOFC anode material is a Ni/YSZ cermet (a
composite of Ni metal and YSZ ceramic). Overall, this material
combines many advantageous properties, including high elec-
trical and thermal conductivity, reasonable thermal expansion,
and chemical and dimensional stability in the fuel-gas envi-
ronment. Yet while Ni/YSZ is satisfactory for cells operating on
clean, reformed fuel, advanced SOFC designs are likely to place
additional constraints on the anode, such as tolerance of highly
oxidizing environments and/or the ability to tolerate signifi-
cant quantities of sulphur and/or hydrocarbon species in the
fuel stream. Furthermore, Ni/YSZ anodes are not stable in oxi-
dizing environments at high temperatures.
To simplify SOFC system requirements, the anode material
should be stable not only while exposed to the fuel environ-
ment during operation, but also when exposed to more oxi-
dizing conditions (i.e. air) during system start-up and
shutdown. With this in mind, some developers have presented
data indicating that modifications to Ni-based anodes may
offer some level of sulphur tolerance, though details of their
approach and level of success are hard to find. Alternative mat-
erials, such as ceria or strontium titanate/ceria mixtures, have
yielded promising results in the laboratory, but the benefits
obtained in terms of sulphur, hydrocarbon and/or redox toler-
ance are counterbalanced by other limitations (not least the dif-
ficulty of integrating such materials with existing cell and stack
fabrication processes and materials).
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
 RESEARCH

dant within the stack not only reduces efficiency but can also
1. How SOFCs work lead to degradation of the cell components (owing to localized
“hot spots” resulting from the heat of the combustion reac-
tions). The seals must also offer electrical insulation to prevent
fuel shorting between cells within the stack.
H2 + CO H2O + CO2
CO + H2O → H2 + CO2 heat
It’s worth noting that planar stack designs may require sev-
eral seals per stack “repeat unit”. Figure 2 on p19 illustrates this
H2O H2O H2O H2O
permeable H2 H2 H2 potential multiplicity of seals in a planar stack (anode-sup-
anode H2 2H2 + 2O= → 4e– + 2H2O e– e– ported cells, metallic interconnects):
● S1: seal between the anode-supported electrolyte
= =
impermeable O= O O O=
electrolyte O= O= O= O= e–
O2 O2 + 4e– → 2O= O2 e– e–
membrane (e.g. 8YSZ) and a metal frame (e.g. ferritic steel).
permeable ● S2: seal between the metal frame and the metal
cathode O2 O2
O2 O2 O2 O2
interconnect (frame and interconnect may or may not be
depleted O2
the same material).
air ● S3: seal between metal frame (metal interconnect) and a
heat
oxidant
ceramic spacer (for electrical insulation).
● S4: seal between stack and manifold plate.

A number of sealing approaches are under development

An SOFC consists of a dense, ionically conducting electrolyte
membrane sandwiched between a cathode and an anode to form
a trilayered cell. Gaseous fuel and oxidant streams are fed to the
anode and cathode respectively. Oxygen molecules in the
oxidant stream (usually air) are converted to oxygen ions at the
cathode/electrolyte interface; these ions then flow through the
electrolyte membrane to the anode/electrolyte interface, where
they react with the fuel.
If the fuel is reformed natural gas, for example, the hydrogen
and carbon monoxide in the fuel are converted into water and
carbon dioxide. During this process, electrons are transported
from the anode to the cathode through an external circuit,
resulting in the generation of an electric current. A substantial
fraction of the enthalpy associated with the oxidation of the
fuel to water and carbon dioxide is directly converted to
electrical work.
Owing to the fact that no intermediate steps are involved in
the energy-conversion process, SOFCs can deliver substantially
higher electrical conversion efficiencies when compared with
traditional technologies such as coal-fired power plants and
electrical generators based on internal combustion engines.
Robust SOFC stack seals
In comparison with tubular SOFC designs, such as the system
being developed by Siemens Westinghouse, planar designs
offer several potential advantages, including simpler and less
expensive manufacturing processes and higher volumetric
power densities. The downside is that planar designs have one
complication which does not apply to tubular systems: the
need for effective, high-temperature seals between the compo-
nents in the SOFC stack.
These seals must prevent (or at least minimize sufficiently for
acceptable performance) both leakage of fuel and oxidant gases
across the SOFC community, including rigid, bonded seals (e.g.
glass-ceramics and brazes), compliant seals (e.g. viscous glass)
and compressive seals (e.g. mica-based composites). What’s
more, it is likely that multiple sealants will be used in any given
stack design.
Rigid seals: These typically rely on a glass that will soften and
“glue together” the adjacent components during stack fabrica-
tion (at a temperature above the operating temperature), but
become rigid and immobile, frequently because of crystalliza-
tion, when cooled to the operating temperature.
Glass-based seals are a relatively straightforward means of
sealing an SOFC stack (at least initially), but they face consider-
able challenges in meeting the stringent SOFC requirements.
For example, the brittle nature of glasses (below the glass tran-
sition temperature) and glass-ceramics makes the seals vulner-
able to crack formation (resulting from stresses related to
thermal-expansion mismatches with the adjacent compo-
nents). As a consequence, the coefficient of thermal expansion
(CTE) must be similar to that of the other components (typi-
cally from 10 to 13 × 10–6 °C–1). Yet while glass compositions
can be tailored to optimize their physical properties, the selec-
tion of glasses offering appropriate thermal-expansion behav-
iour is relatively narrow. And the selection is further limited by
the need for the glass to have appropriate wetting behaviour
and viscosity at the sealing temperature.
Chemical compatibility with the stack components and the
gaseous constituents of the highly oxidizing and reducing
environments is another big concern. Glasses tend to interact
with other stack components, such as interconnects or elec-
trodes, at SOFC operating temperatures. Interactions can
occur over a short range (e.g. via direct physical contact) or
over longer distances (via gaseous transport of species to or
from the glass).
● Electrodes: the formation of volatile reaction products

from the stack to the outside environment, and mixing of fuel (due to interaction of the glass with high-temperature
and oxidant gases within the stack. Leakage of fuel reduces gases) must be avoided to prevent or minimize surface
stack efficiency (since a lower fraction of the input fuel is avail- contamination and poisoning of electrodes. For example,
able for conversion to electricity), while mixing of fuel and oxi- B2O3 tends to volatilize in either fuel or air, while SiO2

THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG 17

RESEARCH
2. Putting the seal on SOFCs
metal interconnect
S2
S1
ceramic spacer
S3
metal frame
S4
metal endplate/
manifold
fuel air
tends to volatilize in fuel. Alkali-containing glasses are
usually avoided, because the volatilization of alkali
species has been found to degrade cathode performance
owing to a coarsening of cathode grains at the
cathode–electrolyte interface.
● Interconnects: sealing glasses tend to be very reactive
toward metallic interconnect materials. These reactions
can result in the formation of secondary phases and/or
extensive porosity, either of which can seriously degrade
the strength of the seal.
Interactions with the SOFC gases can also compromise the
seal itself – both in terms of strength and/or hermeticity –
through loss of seal material. To ensure long-term stability of
the seal, it may be necessary to minimize the volatile con-
stituents and/or minimize the exposed seal-surface area.
While all three constituents of the primary glass-forming
oxides (B2O3, P2O5 and SiO2) have been investigated for SOFC
seals, the best results have been obtained using compositions
based on silica. Alkali silicate glasses tend to be very reactive
towards other SOFC components, although alkaline-earth alu-
mino-silicate glasses have yielded promising results. One of the
primary advantages of the latter (particularly those glasses con-
taining BaO) is that it is possible to tailor their CTE to match that
of other SOFC stack components. These glasses also offer good
wetting of stack components, high electrical resistivity and
rapid crystallization kinetics after the viscous sealing process.
As a result, successful bonding with YSZ is frequently reported,
though bonding with alloy interconnects tends to be more
challenging and problematic.
Another way of sealing stack components is brazing. Here a
filler metal, the liquidus of which is well below that of the mat-
erials to be joined, is heated to a point at which it is molten,
allowed to flow and fill the gap between the two joining pieces
under capillary action, and cooled to solidify the joint.
Although most commercial brazes do not wet ceramic sur-
18
The choice of seals in a planar
stack (anode-supported cells,
metallic interconnects).
Possible seals include: S1, cell
to metal frame; S2, metal frame
to metal interconnect; S3,
frame/interconnect to spacer
(for electrical insulation); S4,
stack to base manifold plate.
Planar stack designs may
require several seals per stack
‘repeat unit’, with seal designs
and materials largely
dependent on the cell/stack
configurations and the
air fuel contacting surfaces/materials.
faces, the addition of a reactive metal, such as Ti or Zr, reduces
the ceramic phase at the joining interface to give an interme-
diate layer that is in chemical equilibrium with both the
ceramic and braze-metal phases. Once this reduced phase
forms, wetting of the ceramic surface by the filler metal is
improved greatly.
The snag is that while active metal brazing solves the wetting
issue, preferential oxidation of the active element in the braze
at SOFC operating temperatures can lead to rapid deterioration
of the joint. An additional problem, and one that greatly com-
plicates the search for an appropriate joining material, is the
desire to accomplish the sealing in an oxidizing environment.
Using a reducing environment at joining temperatures of the
order of 800 °C or greater increases the cost and can damage
cathode materials, resulting in a severe loss in cell performance.
This processing restriction eliminates conventional active
metal brazing as a joining technique and essentially reduces the
list of candidate joining materials to noble-metal-based brazes.
In this context, silver-based brazes have the potential to be cost-
effective, though there is a concern regarding the structural
instability of silver in dual environments (oxidizing and reduc-
ing atmospheres on each side of the seal).
Compliant seals: These simultaneously attempt to perform
the sealing function and prevent thermal-stress generation
between adjacent components, and can enable the use of
stack components with considerable thermal-expansion mis-
match. Glasses with a Tg below the stack operating tempera-
ture can provide some measure of stress relief owing to
viscous flow, but it is difficult to “dial in” or tailor a glass vis-
cosity low enough for stress relief but not so low as to enable
glass migration from the seal area. The problem is the rela-
tively large ∆Ts encountered within the stack; glass viscosity
can change significantly over a 50–100 ºC range, so that a
glass with the optimum viscosity near the cell inlets may be
far too fluid near the cell outlets.
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG

Make the grade: researchers use the so-called button cell test to
screen electrode materials for applications in SOFC demonstrator
units. Such tests are playing a key role in the US R&D effort on
SOFCs, which is sponsored by the DOE SECA programme. SECA
aims to create a SOFC power-generation system that can be mass-
produced in modular form for less than $400/kW by 2010.
Compressive seals: Typically utilizing materials such as sheet-
structure silicates to act as a gasket between components,
compressive seals can help to improve the stack’s tolerance of
thermal-expansion mismatch between the various stack
components. In its simplest embodiment, a compliant high-
temperature material is captured between the two sealing
surfaces and compressed, using a load frame external to the
stack, to accomplish sealing (similar to the way in which elas-
tomeric gaskets are used in everyday appliances). Because the
seal conforms to both sealing surfaces and is under constant
compression during use, it forms a dynamic structure that
reduces the need for CTE matching (thereby extending the list
of candidate interconnect alloys). It’s also possible for the seal-
ing surfaces to slide past one another without disrupting the
hermeticity of the seal.
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
RESEARCH
Raw materials: the development of enhanced cathode materials
and high-conductivity electrolytes is helping research teams to
achieve greater power densities from their IT-SOFC systems.
The primary challenge of this technology is the need for a
compliant high-temperature sealing material that functions as
a reliable compressive seal. Also, the use of compressive seals
requires some innovative thinking when it comes to SOFC
stack design. For starters, a load frame must be included to
maintain the desired compressive load during operation, and
the stack components must withstand the compressive load
required for adequate sealing over the lifetime of the stack.
A number of materials have been considered for compressive
seals, including mica, nickel and copper. Each has been found to
have limitations when used in a simple gasket configuration,
ranging from oxidation in the case of the metals to relatively
high leak rates in the case of the mica. The route to enhanced
performance could lie with new hybrid and composite seal
approaches, in which mica is combined with other materials.
Alloy interconnects for SOFC stacks
SOFC interconnects separate the fuel in the anode chamber
from the oxidant in the cathode chamber, and serve as bipolar
plates connecting adjacent cells in series. The advent of IT-
SOFCs means that high-temperature, oxidation-resistant
alloys can be considered as replacements for the traditional
ceramic interconnect materials, such as doped lanthanum
chromite, used in high-temperature (900–1000 ºC) SOFC
stacks. Compared with lanthanum chromite, alloys offer
advantages such as improved manufacturability, significantly
lower raw material and fabrication costs, and higher electrical
and thermal conductivity. But to be useful for the interconnect
application, the metallic alloys must satisfy a set of exacting
material requirements, including:
● Resistance to surface oxidation and corrosion in a dual
atmosphere (simultaneous exposure to oxidizing and
reducing atmospheres).
● Thermal-expansion matching to other stack components
(particularly for stacks using a rigid seal design).
● Chemical compatibility with other materials in contact
with the interconnect, such as seals and cell materials.
● High electrical conductivity through both the bulk
material and oxide scales formed in situ.
● Mechanical reliability and durability at the device’s
operating temperature.
● Strong adhesion or bond strength between the as-formed
oxide scale and the underlying alloy substrate.
19
RESEARCH
● Manufacturability and low material cost.
To date, ferritic stainless steels have been considered the most
promising candidates, because some alloys in this family offer
a protective and conductive Cr-based oxide scale, appropriate
thermal-expansion behaviour, ease of manufacturing and low
cost. What’s more, several new ferritic-stainless-steel alloys,
such as Crofer22 APU, have been developed specifically for the
SOFC interconnect application.
Although these alloys demonstrate better performance than
the traditional compositions, several critical issues remain.
Among these are chromia-scale evaporation and subsequent
poisoning of cathodes; scale electrical resistivity in the long
term; corrosion and spalling under interconnect exposure con-
ditions; and compatibility with the adjacent components, such
as seals and electrical contact layers.
As an alternative approach to developing new alloys, surface
modification can enhance performance. For example, electri-
cally conductive perovskites and spinels have been applied
onto metallic interconnects to minimize scale growth, electri-
cal resistance and Cr volatility.
The route to market
Clearly, commercial SOFC developers have plenty of scope left
for innovation in terms of the underlying technologies and,
ultimately, in how those technologies contribute to overall sys-
tem price:performance ratio. At the same time, those devel-
opers are pursuing a wide range of SOFC designs that exhibit a
trend towards cell technologies operating at somewhat lower
temperatures (650–850 °C) than “traditional” configurations.
At this point it is worth summarizing – although by no means
exhaustively – the main strands of that development activity
by geographical region, and in both intermediate- and high-
temperature regimes.
Turning first to the US, it is clear that this region is one of the
hotbeds of SOFC development. Siemens Westinghouse, for
example, has been developing large (greater than 100 kW) sys-
tems based on tubular SOFCs for several decades. More recently,
six industrial development teams – headed by Delphi-Battelle,
General Electric, Cummins-SOFCo, Siemens Westinghouse,
Acumentrics and FuelCell Energy (through Versa Power
Systems) – have come together to form the US Department of
Energy (DOE) Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance, known
as SECA (The Fuel Cell Review Oct/Nov 2004 p38).
The SECA initiative, which is coordinated by the National
Energy Technology Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory, aims to streamline the commercial development
and market acceptance of SOFCs. When it was launched, as
part of the DOE’s fossil energy programme, SECA laid down an
ambitious challenge to the SOFC community: deliver SOFCs
that provide 3–10 kW at a cost of $400 or less per kilowatt by
2010. That figure of merit is about an order of magnitude lower
than that of today’s SOFC designs.
In addition to their in-house efforts to develop 3–10 kW
SOFC-based power systems, SECA’s industry teams have
access to research performed for the SECA Core Technology
Programme by various national laboratories, universities and
20
other R&D institutions. The industry teams are pursuing a
range of cell/stack designs, including “microtubular” cells oper-
ating at ~850 ºC (Acumentrics), tubular cells with planar active
areas (Siemens Westinghouse), planar electrolyte-supported
cells (Cummins/SOFCo), and planar anode-supported cells
(Delphi, General Electric and FuelCell Energy). Each of the
SECA teams will be providing prototype systems for testing by
the DOE over 2005–2006.
Non-SECA US SOFC development is in progress at large cor-
porations, such as United Technologies and Corning, and at
many small businesses, including the likes of Franklin Fuel
Cells, NexTech Materials, Materials and Systems Research Inc.,
Ion America, Ztek, CellTech Power, Lilliputian Fuel Cells and
Nano Dynamics.
Europe and beyond
In Europe, meanwhile, a number of development teams are
working on SOFC technology. Sulzer Hexis of Switzerland, for
example, has installed and tested more than 150 combined heat
and power (CHP) systems incorporating 1 kW SOFC stacks
(operating at ~950 ºC) based on planar electrolyte-supported
cells with integrated heat exchangers. In February 2005, the
company announced that its demonstration units had notched
up a cumulative 1 million hours of operation.
Germany, too, is home to a number of significant R&D initia-
tives. Forschungszentrum Jülich, a national laboratory, has a
long-standing SOFC development programme and last year
achieved a significant milestone by demonstrating a 60-cell stack
that delivered 13.3 kW operating on wet hydrogen – the largest
planar SOFC stack demonstrated to date. Among its other activ-
ities, Jülich is working with German car maker BMW and several
other German organizations (including ElringKlinger and DLR
Stuttgart) to develop SOFC-based auxiliary power units (APUs)
for passenger cars. (BMW, for its part, is pursuing parallel devel-
opment efforts on APUs with Delphi Corporation of the US.)
Another German programme focused on SOFC APUs for cars is
being headed up by Webasto, a German manufacturer of auto-
motive thermal management and vehicle-roof systems (The Fuel
Cell Review Oct/Nov 2004 p11).
One of Europe’s longest-running collaborations on SOFCs is
to be found in Denmark, where Haldor Topsøe and Risø
National Laboratory have been working on SOFC development
since 1989. Current efforts are focused on the realization of
5 kW systems based on anode-supported cells. They are also
working with Wartsila in Finland, which in the longer term
intends to fabricate and market higher-power SOFC systems
(from a few hundred kilowatts to several megawatts) for distrib-
uted power generation (The Fuel Cell Review Jun/July 2004 p31).
Other notable European activity is found in the UK, where
Rolls-Royce is developing an integrated planar design SOFC
(IP SOFC) that combines tubular and planar geometries. The
researchers are seeking to take advantage of the thermal-
expansion compliance associated with tubular cells as well as
the low-cost component fabrication compatible with planar
cells. Also significant is the work of Ceres Power, which is pur-
suing a metal-supported planar SOFC design with a ceria-
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG

Materials processing: a PNNL researcher operates a system that
laminates materials during SOFC fabrication. The lamination
process enables multilayer structures, such as the anode-
supported SOFC, to be formed from thin flexible tapes.
based electrolyte for operation at 550–600 °C. The company,
originally a spin-off from Imperial College London, went pub-
lic last year (The Fuel Cell Review Feb/Mar 2005 p29).
Outside the US and Europe, other leading SOFC players are
to be found in Japan, Australia and Canada. In Japan, for exam-
ple, TOTO Ltd is working with Kyusyu Electric Company to
develop tubular 20 kW systems similar to those being devel-
oped by Siemens Westinghouse in the US. Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries (MHI) has teamed with Chubu Electric in a bid to
realize larger (200 kW) systems utilizing co-sintered stacks
containing corrugated cells. They intend to operate a 50 kW
stack this year.
MHI is also developing large pressurized SOFC/turbine
hybrid systems in the megawatt range using tubular cells. All
of these projects are focused on high-temperature (~1000 ºC)
systems. An IT-SOFC system based on planar cells and utiliz-
ing an alternative electrolyte (doped lanthanum gallate),
instead of the industry-standard YSZ, is being developed by
Kansai Electric and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. Finally,
Kyocera is working with Hitachi on small SOFC-based systems
for portable and residential applications.
Elsewhere in Asia Pacific, there’s Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited
(CFCL), Australia’s primary commercial developer, which spe-
cializes in all-ceramic, zirconia-based planar stacks operating
at 850 ºC. The CFCL stack takes advantage of a modular con-
struction, which allows substack modules of 100–150 W to be
assembled into stacks up to 2 kW. Multiple stack manifolding
will allow the assembly of systems up to 10 kW, while partial
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
RESEARCH
internal reforming of fuel is utilized to assist in stack thermal
management. Field trials of 1 kW CHP systems are expected to
begin this year.
Also of note is work going on in Canada, where Fuel Cell
Technologies has operated several demonstration systems in the
2–5 kW class utilizing tubular stacks manufactured by Siemens
Westinghouse. The group also plans to demonstrate 2–3 kW sys-
tems containing tubular stacks provided by TOTO. Canada’s pri-
mary stack developer, Global Thermoelectric, recently sold its
SOFC operations to Versa Power Systems, US.
Powerful visions
By way of conclusion, it’s clear that while the basic concepts
behind SOFC technology have been known for decades, these
promising energy-conversion devices have not yet been per-
fected to the point where they can play a significant role in com-
mercial electrical-power generation. That said, progress remains
encouraging. The number of SOFC developers has grown sub-
stantially in the past 10 years as more and more industries and
governments recognize the need for reliable, efficient and fuel-
flexible energy sources. Equally important, new materials, fab-
rication techniques and computational tools are allowing SOFC
developers to take advantage of the many cost and performance
benefits associated with lower operating temperatures.
In the near future, we can expect to see highly efficient
SOFC power systems being deployed in a number of ways,
including stationary (residential, commercial, remote),
mobile (auxiliary power units for land, air and water vehicles)
and portable (military) applications. Longer-term visions for
SOFCs include large-scale (megawatt) hybrid SOFC/turbine
systems operating on gasified coal, integrated with green-
house-gas capture technologies – which means very high
electrical efficiency coupled with essentially zero emissions.
In a world with finite fossil-fuel resources, SOFC technology
can help to ensure that those resources are used efficiently
and cleanly to satisfy global energy needs. ●
Further reading
A Atkinson et al. 2004 Advanced anodes for high-temperature fuel cells
Nature Materials 3 17–27.
EG&G Technical Services 2004 Fuel Cell Handbook 7th edn (DOE/NETL-
2004/1206, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Morgantown,
West Virginia). Available at http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/
servlets/purl/834188-H0AaAO/native/834188.pdf
N Q Minh 1993 Ceramic fuel cells J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 76 3 563–88.
N Q Minh and T Takahashi 1995 Science and Technology of Ceramic Fuel Cells
(Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands).
S C Singhal and J Mizusaki (eds) 2005 Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC IX) (Elec.
Soc. Proc. Ser. PV2005–07).
S C Singhal and K Kendall 2003 High Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells:
Fundamentals, Design and Applications (Elsevier, Oxford, UK).
Jeffry W Stevenson is group leader and staff scientist; Prabhakar Singh is
fuel-cell development director for industrial and government programmes;
and Subhash C Singhal, NAE, is a Battelle fellow and director, fuel cells, at
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, US. For
further information, e-mail prabhakar.singh@pnl.gov.
21
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 FEATURE: TEST & MEASUREMENT

Integration maximizes
returns on investment
C RAIG A NDREWS , P ANKAJ A GAR WAL , T IM R OBINSON AND F ELIX B ÜCHI
The secret of a well-planned investment in fuel-cell test and measurement lies in the successful
integration of electrochemical, chemical and modelling diagnostics.

FUEL-CELL TESTING is more often than not an expensive and

time-consuming business. A single endurance test of an auto-
motive fuel-cell stack can cost more than $500 000 and run
over an entire year. Indeed, testing can consume as much as
40% of a development company’s annual research budget,
while estimates suggest that the fuel-cell industry as a whole
spends over $400 m per year on test and evaluation. When
properly implemented, however, a carefully planned test pro-
gramme will yield all sorts of long-term strategic benefits.
Analytical models cannot fully predict the behaviour of com-
plex systems, so testing is necessary to fully understand new
designs, materials and system performance over time. That
understanding becomes the foundation for technology devel-
opment, accelerates the commercialization process and
increases customer confidence in the end-product.
When fuel cells become a mainstream power-source, they
will be evaluated using many of the same benchmarks cur-
rently used to quantify internal-combustion power plants.
Those benchmarks include overall efficiency; operating range;
balance-of-plant requirements; fuel flexibility; power curves;
and lifetime. However, fuel cells are still in their infancy, as is the
underlying development of appropriate technical standards.
Government and industry groups in Europe, Asia and North
America are hard at work developing the first standards for test-
ing fuel-cell systems and components. Progress has been
slowed, however, by the diversity of fuel-cell designs and mater-
ials, with each one having its critics and advocates. And other-
wise tranquil researchers will suddenly become animated Testing times: powerful analytical tools are now available in test
during any discussion about narrowing and standardizing fuel- stands that deliver extensive hardware and software integration.
cell testing, largely because there is no universal method that
that can adequately test all fuel-cell designs. approaches are now available in test stands offering more com-
Fortunately, there are techniques that provide a more univer- prehensive software and hardware integration. As such, they
sal understanding of fuel-cell performance, something which is provide powerful tools that can be used during the cell/stack
going to be essential for the technology’s commercial success. development and validation phases to optimize system cost,
This feature reviews three testing approaches – electrochemical durability and performance.
analysis, chemical analysis and computer modelling – that offer
insights beyond the fundamental benchmark of the cur- Electrochemical analysis
rent–voltage (I/V) performance curve. While each of the tech- Let’s start with electrochemistry, where advanced analytical
niques has been applied in a somewhat bespoke fashion during tools such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)
the early stages of fuel-cell component development, all three are playing a key role in building an understanding of the fac-

THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG 23

TEST & MEASUREMENT
1. Principles of EIS
Eo
∆E
Io ∆I
A nonlinear I-V curve for a hypothetical electrochemical
system. The impedance of the system under investigation can be
calculated using Ohm’s law (as shown in equation 1).
tors that affect the performance of a fuel cell. EIS is a versatile
diagnostic technique for determining electrode composition,
structure and stability; membrane and electrolyte characteris-
tics; and operating parameters such as cell temperature,
humidification, gas composition and pressure. The main
advantage of EIS is its capacity to resolve (in the frequency
domain) the individual contributions of the various factors –
ohmic, kinetic and mass transport – that determine overall
fuel-cell power losses.
The latest advances in automation – such as the use of OLE
for Process Control (OPC) client/server architecture – mean
that EIS can be better integrated within fuel test stands.
Furthermore, integration, combined with the availability of
sophisticated algorithms for automatic data analysis, has trans-
formed EIS from a specialized, laboratory-based analytical
technique to a mature and reliable diagnostic and quality-con-
trol tool for the testing of single repeat cells, small stacks and
complete fuel-cell systems.
So how does EIS work? All impedance methods apply a
small-amplitude sinusoidal excitation signal to the system
under investigation and measure the response in terms of cur-
rent, voltage or another signal of interest. Figure 1 shows a non-
linear I-V curve for a theoretical electrochemical system. A
low-amplitude sine wave, ∆Esin(ωt), of a particular frequency is
superimposed on the DC polarization voltage E0. This results
in a current response of a sine wave ∆Isin(ωt + φ) superimposed
on the DC current I0. The current response is shifted with
respect to the applied signal. The impedance of the system can
then be calculated using Ohm’s law (as shown in equation 1).
The impedance (Z) is a complex quantity with magnitude
and phase shifts that depend on the frequency of the signal (ω).
By varying the frequency of the applied signal, the impedance
of the system as a function of frequency can be measured.
Typically in electrochemistry, a frequency range of 100 kHz –
0.1 Hz is used. Z(ω) in equation 1 is expressed in polar and
Cartesian co-ordinates.
The data can be visualized in a Nyquist plot, which displays
the real part of impedance versus the imaginary part, and pro-
vides a quick overview of the data for making qualitative inter-
24
Table 1: Summary of equivalent circuit elements
Circuit element Impedance
R, resistance R
C, capacitance 1
jωC
L, inductance jωL
CPE, constant phase element 1
(j ω C)α
W, Warburg impedance R
Infinite diffusion length √(jω)
W, Warburg impedance tanh √(jωτ)
R
Finite diffusion length √(τ)
pretations. The shape of this curve is important in this regard
and therefore the real and imaginary axes of a Nyquist plot
must have the same scale. The disadvantage of the Nyquist rep-
resentation is that the frequency dimension of the data is not
displayed. One way of overcoming this problem is to label the
frequencies on the curve.
A Bode plot visualizes two different properties – the abs-
olute value of the impedance, |Z|, and the phase shift, ϕ –
which are plotted separately as a function of frequency. This is
the more complete way of presenting the data. The relation-
ship between the two ways of representing the data is shown
in equations 2 and 3.
EIS data are interpreted with the help of suitable models,
which can be divided into two broad categories: equivalent-cir-
cuit models and process models. The models are regressed to
experimental data to estimate parameters that provide an ade-
quate description of the experimental data. These parameters
can then be used to predict the behaviour of the system under
various conditions. Equivalent-circuit models are built with the
help of well known passive elements (such as resistors, capaci-
tors and inductors) and distributed elements (such as a con-
stant-phase element and Warburg impedance, for modelling
diffusion processes). These elements can be combined in series
and parallel to create complex equivalent circuits (table 1).
Specific physical meanings are then assigned to the various ele-
ments of the equivalent circuit.
The use of EIS as an analytical tool to study polymer-elec-
trolyte-membrane (PEM) fuel cells is illustrated in figure 2,
wherein the results of an experiment with H2 at the cathode are
compared with those of an experiment with O2 and air at the
cathode.1, 2 When only hydrogen is flowing on both the anode
and cathode side, no reduction reaction takes place at the cath-
ode; the ohmic losses are measured only across the membrane.
When the hydrogen is replaced by oxygen on the cathode side,
the reduction of oxygen at the cathode occurs. It is therefore
possible to measure the charge-transfer resistance of the reduc-
tion reaction.
When oxygen is replaced by air at the cathode, the effect of
mass transport can be seen. Oxygen must diffuse through
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG

Equation 1: Calculating impedance
Z(ω) = ∆E(ω) = |Z| (ω)eφ(ω) = Zr(ω) + jZj(ω)
∆I(ω)
Equation 2: Absolute values
|Z| 2 = (ReZ)2 + (ImZ)2
φ = tan–1 ImZ
ReZ
Equation 3: The real and imaginary
Re(Z) = |Z| cosφ
Im(Z) = |Z| sinφ
nitrogen present in air to reach the cathode surface, resulting
in increased polarization-resistance owing to the diffusion
resistance. In figure 3, the effect of the poisoning of the catalyst
by CO can be seen. When CO is present in air on the anode side,
the charge-transfer resistance for the oxidation of hydrogen
increases due to the poisoning of the catalyst.
Getting the chemistry right
When it comes to chemical analysis, one of the most important
tools is quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS), which provides
invaluable data for the screening, development and optimiza-
tion of fuel-cell catalysts. Quadrupole mass spectrometers use
a single sensor to simultaneously monitor multiple gas-phase
chemical species in real time and at atmospheric pressure. They
have a wide dynamic range and can track gas-phase reactant,
product and contaminant concentrations from parts-per-bil-
lion to percentage levels.
QMS detects and quantifies chemical species by ionizing
the molecules and/or atoms in a gas stream and then separat-
ing these ions according to their mass/charge (m/e) ratio. A
quadrupole analyser requires high vacuum for operation, and
therefore a capillary inlet connected to a turbomolecular-
pumped vacuum system is used to deliver a small volume of
the atmospheric-pressure gas sample stream to the ion source
(figure 4). Typically, a heated silica-lined capillary with a low
volume and inert surface is deployed to maximize the system
response speed while at the same time minimizing “previous-
sample” memory.
Various methods can be used to ionize the sample, with elec-
tron-impact being the most common. Electrons emitted by a
hot filament knock electrons off the incoming molecules and
atoms to form positive ions (figure 4). The ions are separated
according to their m/e ratio by a quadrupole mass filter and
detected by a Faraday plate or secondary electron multiplier.
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
TEST & MEASUREMENT
All of the gas components are analysed within a single scan and
the results are displayed as a mass spectrum plot showing the
intensity of the detected ions as a function of m/e.
The ionization process produces both parent ions (the orig-
inal molecule with a positive charge) and ionized fragments
of the original neutral molecules. The fragmentation pattern
acts as a fingerprint that identifies the various neutral species
present in the sample. If the identities of the major compo-
nents are known, specific mass peaks can be monitored and
calibration coefficients applied to derive the relative compo-
sition for each species present. Owing to the fundamental
nature of the species being measured, the QMS data are rela-
tively simple to interpret. Furthermore, because all species
within a given sample are analysed, mass spectrometers can
detect and highlight the presence of unexpected species or
contaminants in a product gas stream.
Commercial QMS systems are compact, accurate and simple
to use. Figure 4b shows the Cirrus QMS system from MKS
Instruments, which is supplied with recipe-based control soft-
ware that also allows data to be input from other sensors. This is
essential for fuel-cell catalyst R&D because many of the tech-
niques used to assess and optimize the performance of cata-
lysts rely on the ability to synchronize gas-composition data
with other process parameters. In the specific case of the
Cirrus, the data-collection can be achieved using hardware –
analogue input, for example – or one of a selection of different
software interfaces.
QMS-based gas analysis systems are widely used in fuel-cell
catalyst development and are usually employed in a variety of
temperature-programmed catalyst preparation, characteriza-
tion and optimization methods. These include temperature-
programmed oxidation (TPO), temperature-programmed
reduction (TPR) and temperature-programmed reaction spec-
troscopy (TPRS).3 These techniques provide valuable informa-
tion on properties ranging from surface chemistry (the number
and character of active sites) to reaction endpoint detection.
Researchers studying solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) routinely
use temperature-programmed techniques to study the reduc-
tion characteristics of reforming anodes.4 The preparation of
an activated catalyst (on the surface of a reforming anode, for
example) may require a series of pre-treatments that involve
passing a gas stream over the catalyst at elevated temperatures.
Temperature-programmed QMS gas analysis of the exhaust
gas stream provides useful information for the determination
of optimal temperature and other reaction conditions in the
catalyst activation step. It also provides convenient endpoint
detection in the activation.
The catalytic conversion of methane and other larger hydro-
carbons to hydrogen and carbon oxides on the surface of
SOFC anodes can suffer from “coking” problems. This is when
solid carbon builds up on the catalyst surface, impeding the
SOFC performance. These carbon deposits can be both
removed and characterized through the use of temperature-
programmed oxidation (TPO). In TPO studies of SOFC
anodes, the catalyst is heated in the presence of an O2/He gas
mixture and the exhaust gas analysed by QMS. This provides
25
TEST & MEASUREMENT

2. EIS and PEM fuel cells 3. EIS and catalyst poisoning

–1.00 +++++++++++++++++++++++
+++
25 0.10 –0.70 ++
+++
++ ++ 0.13
+++++
air ++
++ +++++ with CO+++++++++ ++ +
–1.10 +
+ +
+ +
+
20 ++
+ +
+
+
+ 35
++
+
+
+
+ ++
++ + +
+ 0.10
+ ++
+ + ++ ++ +
15 0.07 –0.95 ++ +
++ + + +
+
25
–1.20 +
+ ++ + +
0.08 + +

phase/deg (+)
++ + + ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++ + +
++++ + ++ +++

phase/deg (+)
+
+ ++ + + + + with CO +
log (Z) (o)

log (Z) (o)

++
O without CO

–Z′′ (ohm)
+ + ++ ++ + + + + +

–Z′′ (ohm)
2 + + + +
–1.30 +
+
+
+ +
+
++
++
10 + ++
+ +
+ +
+
+ +
+ +
+ + 15 0.05 +
+ +

+
+
+
+
+ +
+ 0.05 –1.20 +
++
+ +
+ +
+ +
+ +
+ +
+
+ +

–1.40 +
+
+
+
+ +
+ +
+
5 +
+
++
+ +
+ +
+ +
+ + 0.03 +
+
++ + ++ + + + +++
+++++
+

++++++++++
+++ +++ +++ +
+
+
+
+
++++++++
+
+ +
+
+
++ +
+ +
+ + +
+ 5 +
+++
+++
+
++
++
++
+++
+++ +

–1.50 +++++++ +++++++++++++ + + + ++ + +

+++ without CO +++
++
++++
++
++
++
+++++++
++++++++++
+ ++ + +++++++
+++
+++ +
+ 0 0.02 ++
+ + + + + + air
++ –1.45 +++++++++++++
+++++
+
+ +
+ +
+
+ +
+ ++
+
+
0 ++ +++
+
+
+

++ + ++ + + + + + ++
–1.60 –5
+++
++ ++
++
+
O2
++
++
+ +
+
+
+ ++ +
++ ++
+ –5 –0.03 +++++
+ ++ + +++++
++
H 2
+++
+ ++
+++
++ ++
++
++
+
+ +++ ++
++ ++ ++
+++ ++
+ + ++++ +++
–1.70 –10 +
++ H2 +
++++
–1.70 +
–0.01 –15 –0.05
–2.00 –0.80 0.40 1.60 2.80 4.00 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 –2.0 –1.0 0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 0.02 0.07 0.12 0.17
log (f) Z′ (ohm) log (f) Z′ (ohm)
Results of an EIS experiment with H2 at the cathode compared Results of an EIS experiment to study catalyst performance in a
with those of an experiment with O2 and air at the cathode. PEM fuel cell with air (with and without CO) at the anode.

valuable information on the amount of carbon deposited and tems and maintaining constant reactant ratios, TPRS studies
its location on the anode surface.5 employ QMS to monitor the CO and CO2 produced at different
Figure 5 (p28) shows QMS data acquired during a TPO temperatures. The selectivity of the reaction towards CO or
process on an unreduced 10% NiO/SiO2 catalyst, in which the CO2 at different temperatures provides information relevant to
reaction products of the coke (carbon) oxidation are moni- the understanding of the basic reaction mechanisms in the
tored as a function of the TPO process temperature. The plot catalysed partial oxidation of methane.
reveals oxidation product concentrations for CO2 (m/e = 44)
and CO (m/e = 28) as a function of temperature, while the The role of modelling and simulation
temperature at which CO2 and CO appear indicates when While experiments provide valuable insights into the under-
carbon removal begins. The temperature at which the surface lying fuel-cell processes, measurements can prove rather
carbon is fully removed and the total amount of carbon time-consuming, while their limited spatial resolution hin-
deposited on the catalysts can also be determined from the ders the in-depth analysis of the interacting phenomena. This
data. In this case, the presence of three peaks suggests that the in-depth analysis is the realm of modelling and simulation
carbon on the anode is adsorbed via at least three different activities, which span the entire fuel-cell research domain,
surface-bonding modes. Finally, the curves clearly indicate including single cells, stacks and complete systems of both
the endpoint at which all of the (oxidizable) carbon has been PEM fuel cells and SOFCs. The models can be either phenom-
removed from the catalyst surface. enological or more fundamental in nature. They can be
QMS can also be used to analyse exhaust gas in tempera- implemented in a variety of numerical simulation tools and
ture-programmed reduction (TPR) processes. This is partic- the resulting predictions must be validated against a broad
ularly relevant to the behaviour of SOFC catalysts – series of measurements.
specifically, the reaction mechanisms and the characteristics Global models that describe a single PEM fuel cell focus on
of the catalytically active sites in the reforming process.6 For the dominant through-plane processes across the membrane.
example, by monitoring the concentration of water vapour as These include the transport of water, protons, reactant gases
a function of temperature during TPR of NiO catalysts, it is and heat. The in-plane exchange processes parallel to the mem-
possible to identify the different temperatures at which the brane are controlled mainly by the reactant gaseous flow along
rate of chemical reduction of the catalyst reaches peak values the supply channels. The coupling between both in- and
(see figure 6). This data provides evidence for NiO reaction through-plane processes can be achieved with a 1+1 dimen-
sites with differing levels of chemical reactivity. Figure 6 (p28) sionality model, which can reproduce the along-the-channel
clearly shows two well-defined “peaks” in the water concen- current-distribution inhomogeneities.7,8
tration separated by over 140 K in the TPR process. This Volume averaging is another global modelling approach for
implies the presence of NiO catalyst particles with at least two cells, stacks and entire systems.9 The effective transport and
different levels of reactivity towards hydrogen reduction. interaction parameters are calculated for each component with
These differences may be correlated with differences in cata- the help of computationally efficient 3D models of the actual
lyst particle size and surface location. structures. The effective parameters are subsequently deployed
Finally, SOFC development studies that employ temperature- in less complex, mostly 2D models. This allows the simulation
programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS) can be used to of full stacks or systems to be performed using far fewer com-
investigate the surface reactions that occur between methane putational resources.
and oxygen on different reforming catalysts, including Ni/SiO2, In addition to the global models, understanding electro-
Ni/Al2O3, Ni/TiO2, and Ni/CeO2. Using different catalyst sys- chemical reactions at the molecular level and identifying the

26 THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG


4. Chemical analysis
filament
capillary inlet
end of
quadrupole
filter
filament
to the backing electron
pump entry slit
Functional components of a quadrupole mass spectrometer.
Detail shows the sample inlet which comprises a pumped silica
capillary and the ion-source region.
rate-determining steps (RDS) is a key task in the development
of new materials and designs, as well as for the optimization of
electrode performance. Electrochemical processes are highly
complex and involve multiple RDS, consecutive and parallel
pathways, as well as mass transport.
As explained earlier, EIS is a popular experimental tech-
nique used to investigate fuel-cell reactions. Equivalent cir-
cuits of resistive, capacitive and inductive elements are fitted
directly to the experimental impedance spectra. The problem
with this approach is that it is limited by its lack of physical
insight and the ambiguous interpretation of the equivalent
circuits in terms of reaction steps. The identification of elec-
trochemical processes requires a more fundamental model-
ling approach. State-space modelling (SSM) provides the
numerical simulation of the electrochemical reactions, estab-
lishing meaningful relationships between reaction models,
electrochemical behaviour and experimental parameters of
interest – including electrode potential and oxygen partial
pressure.11, 12 SSM has been used to study the electrochemi-
cal behaviour of various reaction models for SOFC-relevant
interfaces as well as for different types of electrodes.11, 12, 13
More recently, SSM has been used to investigate the kinetics
of CO poisoning in PEM fuel cells.14
Meanwhile, processes within membrane–electrode assem-
blies (MEAs) can be simulated by using computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) methods to solve the transport equations at
the pore level – though this requires significant computa-
tional resources to achieve the required high spatial resolu-
tion. The lattice Boltzmann (LB) method provides an efficient
alternative that is particularly suited to mesoscopic flow
domains.15 When modelling fuel cells, two-phase flow phe-
nomena and electrochemical reactions must be considered.
This is achieved by the implementation of a continuum sur-
face flow (CSF) model, whereby interfacial surface phenom-
ena are no longer applied as discrete boundary conditions but
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
TEST & MEASUREMENT
Weight watchers: commercial quadrupole mass spectrometers
can simultaneously monitor (down to ppb levels) a number of
gas-phase species (reactants, products and contaminants) in real
time and at atmospheric pressure.
rather as smoothly varying volume forces acting in the tran-
sition region between the phases.16
One LB model under development uses a statistical
approach to characterize the structure of porous electrodes
and is based on low-order correlation functions that can be
derived from microscopic imaging methods such as com-
puter tomography (CT).17 Recent comparisons of the meas-
ured pressure drop in a real porous structure showed
excellent agreement with simulations that employed an arti-
ficially generated geometry and the corresponding LB-based
flow predictions.
The flow distribution and related electrochemical transport
in cells have been addressed recently with 3D CFD and detailed
transport models. These approaches are gaining popularity
because they contain most of the relevant physics and can
improve understanding of related phenomena – which is a
necessary condition for the successful development of fuel-
cell technology. It is vital, of course, that all of these models are
supported by experiments that provide both the appropriate
physical constants and validation data. 3D modelling was
recently used to optimize SOFC operation with internal
methane steam reforming, and simulations have also covered
complete PEM fuel cells.18, 19
Integrate and accumulate
Clearly, advanced diagnostic techniques like EIS, QMS and
computer modelling can yield fundamental insights and per-
formance improvements when applied to fuel-cell stacks and
components. What’s more, those insights and enhancements
are amplified when these techniques are integrated together as
part of a single test database and operating system. These days,
test-station control software is capable of integrating the dif-
ferent streams of test data and then performing automated
analysis and control as required.
As part of the overall test protocol, for example, the user of a
27
S O U RC E : K E E L E U N I V E R S I T Y , UK
TEST & MEASUREMENT
5. QMS and catalyst coking
4.00E-06
3.50E-06
mass spec. signal (arbitrary units)
3.00E-06
2.50E-06
2.00E-06
1.50E-06
1.00E-06
5.00E-07
0.00E-00
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 isothermal from 1273 K
Plot of CO and CO2 oxidation products against temperature.
The temperature at which carbon removal begins and the point
at which the catalyst-surface carbon has been fully removed
are clearly identifiable. The three peaks suggest that the carbon
on the anode is adsorbed via at least three different surface-
bonding modes.
state-of-the-art test stand can specify the automatic initiation
of a subtest (such as impedance measurement or chemical
analysis) in response to reaching predetermined test parame-
ters (such as minimum cell voltage across a stack). The system
can then analyse these results automatically. Based on the
results, the test protocol can then specify a wide variety of
actions to be taken, such as changing test parameters or noti-
fying the test engineer by e-mail or pager. In this way, overall
test productivity is enhanced greatly, resulting in reduced test
time and improved information for a given test.
By way of conclusion, it’s worth reiterating that as fuel cells
move toward commercialization, advanced diagnostic tech-
niques will play a vital role in validating system performance
and ensuring quality control. Testing should be a planned
investment, however, directing development, hastening time
to market and boosting customer confidence. Integrating elec-
trochemical analysis, chemical analysis and computer model-
ling looks like the answer, and the most likely way to maximize
the return on those test dollars invested throughout the devel-
opment process.
Further reading
1. M Ciureanu and Raymond Roberge 2001 J. Phys. Chem. B 105
3531–3539.
2. M Ciureanu, H Wong and Z Qi 1999 J. Phys. Chem. B 103 9645–9657.
3. C M Finnerty, R H Cunningham, K Kendall and R M Ormerod 1998
Chemical Communications 915.
4. C M Finnerty, R H Cunningham and R M Ormerod 1998 Proc. 3rd Eur.
Conf. on SOFCs 217.
5. C M Finnerty et al. 1998 Proc. 3rd Eur. Conf. on SOFCs 43.
6. C M Finnerty, R H Cunningham and R M Ormerod 1998 Proc. 3rd Eur.
Conf. on SOFCs 227.
28
6. QMS and catalyst reactivity
1.80E-07
Tmax = 929 K T = 685 K
1.60E-07 Tmax = 543 K max
mass spec. signal (arbitrary units)
1.40E-07
1.20E-07
1.00E-07
mass 44 8.00E-08
mass 28 6.00E-08
Tmax = 1048 K 4.00E-08
Tmax = 1093 K
2.00E-08
0.00E-00
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200
temperature (K) temperature (K)
Plot of water concentration against temperature. The two
well-defined peaks in the water concentration indicate the
presence of NiO catalyst particles with at least two different
levels of reactivity towards hydrogen reduction. These
differences in reactivity may be correlated with variations in
catalyst particle size and surface location.
7. P Berg, K Promislow, J S Pierre, J Stumper and B Wetton 2004
J. Electrochem. Soc. 151 A341.
8. S A Freunberger 2002 “Wasserhaushalt und Leistungsverhalten von
Polymer-Electrolyt Brennstoffzellen technischer Relevanz”
Diploma Thesis (Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland and TU Vienna,
Austria).
9. M Roos, E Batawi, U Harnisch and T Hocker 2003 J. Power Sources 118
86.
10. J R Macdonald 1987 Impedance Spectroscopy (John Wiley & Sons, New
York).
11. A Mitterdorfer and L J Gauckler 1999 Solid State Ionics 117 187.
12. A Mitterdorfer and L J Gauckler 1999 Solid State Ionics 117 203.
13. A Bieberle and L J Gauckler 2002 Solid State Ionics 23 146.
14. F Hajbolouri 2004 “Polymer electrolyte fuel cells: contributions to
the understanding of CO-tolerance” Dissertation no. 15525 (ETH
Zürich).
15. S Chen and G D Doolen 1998 Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 30 329.
16. J Steiner, C Redl, W Brandstätter and A Triesnig 2004 TMS Conf. Proc.
(Charlotte, North Carolina).
17. S Salchenegger, W Brandstätter, B Andreaus and G Scherer 2002
France-Deutschland Fuel Cell Conf. on Materials, Engineering, Systems and
● Applications.
18. N Autissier, D Larrain, J Van herle and D Favrat 2004 J. Power Sources
131 313.
19. S M Senn and D Poulikakos 2003 IMECE 2003-42310, ASME Int.
Mechanical Eng. Congress and Exposition (Washington DC) 1.
Craig Andrews is chief technology officer at Fideris, College Station, Texas, US.
Pankaj Agarwal is managing director of Fideris Europe and is based in Zürich,
Switzerland. Tim Robinson is general manager of MKS Spectra Products, part of
MKS Instruments, which is based in Andover, Massachusetts, US. Felix Büchi
is head of the fuel-cell systems development group at the Paul Scherrer Institute
in Villigen, Switzerland.
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
 Also in this section
TECHNOLOGY 30 Portable-power markets
31 Tubular cells advance
TRACKING 31 Fuel cells and aircraft
32 Michelin talks mobility
33 Rolls-Royce invests

Technology transfer

Nanomaterials push cost:performance boundaries

Nanostructured materials hold the key to cost-competitive fuel-cell systems, according to a new study.

G A RY M E E K
The fuel-cell industry has reached a crossroads
in its commercial evolution. Although exist-
ing fuel-cell designs can deliver the perform-
ance required for many applications, they are
still too expensive to enable mass-market
adoption. Furthermore, according to a new
study, many industry experts now believe that
fuel-cell systems need to be re-engineered
from the bottom up – right down to the mater-
ials used in components and subsystems – in
order to develop systems that can compete
with the cost:performance points of conven-
tional power sources.
It’s a view that is gaining widespread accept-
ance. The US Department of Energy, for exam-
ple, has scaled back its funding of fuel-cell
system development in favour of more funda-
mental studies of materials and other enabling
technologies that will yield affordable prod-
ucts. One crucial strategy within this broader
thrust is the use of custom nanomaterials that
could improve cell efficiency and reduce
material costs. Polymer-electrolyte-mem-
brane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are a case in point.
Here, the cost of the platinum catalyst has Nano, nano: fuel cells are not the only energy systems to make use of advances in nanomaterials.
already been cut by depositing nanoparticles Supercapacitors, solar cells, rechargeable batteries and hydrogen storage are all profiting from
of the precious metal onto a carbon support. fundamental innovations in materials science, according to the new report from the Technology
This approach has reduced platinum loading in Tracking programme. Above, Jud Ready, a scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta,
PEMFCs from 2 mg/cm2 to 0.5 mg/cm2 with US, inspects carbon nanotubes that will be used in electrodes for supercapacitor applications.
minimal impact on performance and durabil-
ity, while future targets have been set at such as carbon nanotubes and nanofibres. which combines high ionic conductivities
0.3 mg/cm2 by 2010 and 0.2 mg/cm2 by 2015. Particularly impressive is the miniature PEMFC and low gas permeability with good chemical,
According to the study, entitled Nanomaterials demonstrated by a Japanese collaboration mechanical and thermal strength. However,
for Next-Generation Energy Sources, these ambi- involving NEC, the Japan Science and these fluorine-containing membranes are
tious targets could be met by depositing plat- Technology Corporation and Tokyo’s Institute expensive and don’t operate efficiently at
inum nanoparticles onto a nanostructured of Research and Innovation. The electrodes in temperatures below about 0 °C or above
carbon material, a technique that is expected to the device are composed of carbon “nano- about 80 °C. Attempts to produce a cheaper
boost catalytic activity and so reduce the horns”, and boast high permeability along with alternative have, in the main, focused on
amount of precious metal required. Scientists an extremely large surface-area for enhanced hydrocarbon membranes, although these
at 3M in the US have shown that such nano- catalysis. Nanohorns are expected to become a materials have typically suffered from poor
structured anodes and cathodes display a five- low-cost raw material, since they can be readily thermal stability.
fold increase in activity compared with prepared with high purity. More recently, though, US start-up PolyFuel
traditional carbon/platinum catalysts, which launched a nano-engineered hydrocarbon
has enabled the company to build mem- Membrane science membrane that is created by directly modify-
brane–electrode assemblies (MEAs) with a plat- Nanostructured materials are also proving ing the nanostructure and chemical character-
inum loading of just 0.1 mg/cm2. their worth in the development of cheaper, istics of the material to enhance proton flow
Elsewhere, researchers have been investigat- more efficient membranes. Most commercial (The Fuel Cell Review Dec/Jan 2005 p33). PolyFuel
ing the potential of alternative nanomaterials, PEMs are based on Dupont’s Nafion material, claims that the membrane is cheaper than per-

THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG 29

TECHNOLOGY TRACKING

fluorinated versions, and that it also exhibits Applications

greater stability at low humidity levels and at
both higher and lower operating temperatures.
Leading automotive fuel-cell manufacturers
are now conducting pilot studies to put those
claims to the test.
Advanced membranes are also crucial for
the development of direct-methanol fuel cells
(DMFCs), which tend to suffer from methanol
crossover. This problem arises when unreacted
methanol from the anode crosses the mem-
brane and reacts with oxygen from the cath-
ode. It is a big headache for system designers,
because it reduces the run time for a given
amount of fuel and creates excess heat and
water on the cathode side of the cells – in other
words, a more complex, expensive cell archi-
tecture. Some progress towards preventing
methanol crossover has been made with mem-
branes based on polybenzimidazole, but start-
up firms claim that nanostructured versions
could offer a lower-cost solution.
One of those companies, FuMA-Tech of
Germany, claims that its nanostructured mem-
brane leads to a 20% improvement in the effi-
ciency of DMFCs, as well as ensuring long-term
stability. PolyFuel, too, has released a nano-
structured hydrocarbon membrane for DMFCs
that, it claims, exhibits a methanol crossover
that is 50–65% lower than that of the most com-
monly used DMFC membrane, Nafion 117.
That’s good news, because lower methanol
crossover means the DMFC system can use
higher concentrations of methanol, which in
turn means better fuel utilization. Indeed,
PolyFuel reckons that a portable fuel cell built
around its new membrane can run for 30–35%
longer than a system built with an equivalently
performing perfluorinated membrane.
Such early successes indicate that there are
concrete opportunities for companies that
can demonstrate how nanostructured mate-
rials can reduce the material cost and improve
the performance of fuel cells. “The challenge
for start-ups such as PolyFuel and FuMA-Tech
is to show that their innovative materials tech-
nology can be incorporated in practical and
low-cost fuel-cell designs,” says the report.
“Although nanomaterials offer a promising
new strategy for building affordable fuel-cell
solutions, potential customers will need to be
convinced that any new component materi-
als can be incorporated into high-volume
production processes that will ensure a clear
route to market.”
● Nanomaterials for Next-Generation Energy Sources
is published by Technology Tracking, a reports
service from the publishers of The Fuel Cell
Review. For more information, take a look at
www.technology-tracking.com.
Susan Curtis
Not-so-stationary SOFCs
Will solid-oxide fuel-cell systems pass muster as portable power sources?
“Out of the laboratory and into the market-
place” looks to be the defining mantra at
NanoDynamics, a US manufacturer specializ-
ing in the consumer and industrial applica-
tions of nanotechnology and nanomaterials.
The company’s energy division is a case in
point. Based in Buffalo, New York, ND Energy
is seeking to establish its fuel-cell credentials –
and a toehold in the market for portable power
sources – with the Revolution 50, a system
billed as being “much more than a demonstra-
tor”, but rather a “true portable solid-oxide fuel
cell (SOFC) product”.
In terms of headline specifications, the
Revolution 50 generates 50 W of DC power and
runs for 36 h from just 400 g of propane stored
in a camping-gas-style canister. The system
weighs 4.4 kg fully fuelled and measures
14 × 10.25 × 6.5 inches. Caine Finnerty, techni-
cal director at NanoDynamics, reckons there’s a
“well-defined application” for such a product as
a power source for electronic advertising bill-
boards – a market that “may result in a produc-
tion run of thousands of units”. Finnerty
continued: “Because the Rev 50 is unique, appli-
cations may emerge simply because it allows the
user to do things that they couldn’t do before.”
Finnerty says that one of the big selling
points of the Revolution 50 is the fact that it
incorporates a simple propane cylinder avail-
able from almost any hardware shop or home-
improvement centre. He explained: “When the
fuel cylinder is empty, [you] simply throw it
away and replace it with another. The fuel-dis-
tribution chain is already in place. When will
we be able to make that claim for hydrogen?”
Nevertheless, ND Energy also recognizes
that portable fuel cells must be able to work
with other widely available fuel sources if they
are to achieve significant market penetration.
This means that future iterations of the
Revolution 50 may not necessarily operate on
propane, but may instead exploit natural gas or
diesel. Finnerty admits that such a develop-
ment is far from straightforward, however.
“The complexity of adapting the Rev 50 system
to operate on a different fuel is a function of its
sulphur content, with high-sulphur JP8 fuel as
perhaps the most challenging,” he noted.
In the near term, it’s clear that the Revolution
50 faces plenty of stiff competition in the
portable-power market – and not just from
incumbent battery technologies, but also from
polymer-electrolyte-membrane (PEM) and
Portable, powerful: the Revolution 50 weighs
4.4 kg and measures 14 × 10.25 × 6.5 inches.
direct-methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Finnerty
concedes that while “SOFCs are more efficient
than PEM or methanol cells in converting fuel
into electricity, that does not mean that SOFCs
will replace methanol cells for all applications.”
An SOFC system achieves its high efficiency
by operating at high temperatures (700–850 °C
in the case of the Revolution 50). However, the
downside of this is the need to wrap an insula-
tion blanket around the cell-stack to keep the
external temperature of the unit at a safe level.
For small systems, generating perhaps 5 W, the
thickness and weight of this blanket are signif-
icant from a design/cost perspective. As sys-
tems increase in size, however, the additional
weight of the insulation becomes more trivial
(for example, in a 5 kW system).
DMFCs and PEMFCs, on the other hand, oper-
ate at much lower temperatures and so have no
need for insulation. For this reason, they can
provide a more compact solution than SOFCs
for low-power portable systems such as con-
sumer electronic devices. “As a result,” said
Finnerty, “for relatively low-power, short-dura-
tion operations, methanol systems are superior.
For high-power, longer-duration operations,
SOFC systems are superior. And there are a
range of applications for which they are both
competitive. Not to put too fine a point on it, I
don’t see SOFCs having a place in powering lap-
tops, PDAs or cellphones.”
Jonathan Wills

30 THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG

 TECHNOLOGY TRACKING

Materials processing

Tubular cells pack a powerful punch

Canadian scientists are thinking small and portable when it comes to solid-oxide fuel cells.

NanoDynamics is just one of a posse of devel-

opers seeking to adapt solid-oxide fuel cells
(SOFCs) for portable applications (see previous
article). Another group that appears to be mak-
ing solid headway is to be found at Canada’s
Alberta Research Council (ARC). The differen-
tiator in ARC’s case is a new take on cell design
and fabrication that enables the realization of
high-power-density tubular SOFCs.
Tubular SOFCs have been around for a
while, of course. Siemens Westinghouse Power
Corporation (SWPC), US, pioneered the tubu-
lar design in the late 1970s. Although there are
variations on the theme, a tubular cell typically
comprises a multiwalled tube, inside which
fuel flows through the hollow centre and per-
meates into the anode, which forms the inner
wall. The electrolyte and cathode form the
middle and external walls respectively, with air
flowing around the outside. SWPC’s latest gen-
eration of cells (in which the cathode forms the
inner wall) measure 22 mm in diameter and are
typically 1.5 m in length.
Now, though, Partho Sarkar and colleagues
in ARC’s advanced materials business unit in
Edmonton, Alberta, have taken a significant
step by developing tubular cells with a diame-
ter of just 2 mm. Calculations show that reduc-
ing the tube diameter from 22 mm to 2 mm
increases the electrolyte surface area in a stack
by approximately eight times – which in turn
translates into a much higher volumetric
power density. Furthermore, the ARC design
combines low mass and high thermal-shock
resistance – essential characteristics for the fast
turn-on/switch-off times needed in practical
portable devices.
Dean Richardson, venture manager for ARC
Engineered Products and Services Division,
estimates that a stack comprising the ARC’s
2 mm cells will “meet or exceed 2 kW/l in a vari-
ety of configurations under 5 kW”. He contin-
ued: “The technology has broad applicability.
ARC has active interest and discussions under
way in the energy industry, off-grid power gen-
eration and for defence applications, [though]
fully commercialized products are likely to be
three to six years away.”
ARC’s narrow-diameter cells are fabricated
using a technique called sequential elec-
trophoretic deposition (EPD), a simple, inex-
pensive approach that permits the formation
of high-quality ceramics on geometrically
complicated substrates. EPD works by deposit-
The hole story: ARC believes its tubular SOFCs could find “broad applicability”, although fully
commercialized products are unlikely to appear for at least three years.
ing charged colloidal particles in a stable sus-
pension onto an oppositely charged substrate
by the application of a DC electric field. The
first layer comprises NiO and yttria-stabilized
zirconia (YSZ), followed by an anode func-
tional layer and a YSZ electrolyte layer, both of
which are <10 µm thick. The cell is then sin-
tered at around 1380 °C for 4 h before the cath-
ode layer of YSZ/La0.8Sr0.2MnO (LSM) is
applied via brush painting. The complete cell is
then sintered at ~1200 °C for an additional 2 h.
Currently, and “for development purposes
only”, the ARC cells run on either humidified
hydrogen or a hydrogen/helium mix in the
700–800 °C temperature range. However, ARC
is developing both internal and external refor-
mation techniques to broaden the fuel com-
Aviation
Flight of fancy?
Fuel-cell-powered aircraft are on the
radar screen – but only just.
The big car makers are the main driving force,
and the heaviest spenders, when it comes to
R&D on fuel-cell technologies. That much
was clear at the European Hydrogen and Fuel
Cell Technology Platform (HFP) meeting in
Brussels in March (see main report p7). Yet
alongside the slick Powerpoint presentations
patibility, as well as evaluating alternative elec-
trode materials to support the direct oxidation
of hydrocarbon fuels at the anode. “This
approach holds great promise,” explained
Richardson, “but there is much significant
research to be done to further validate the idea.
Ultimately, the technology will operate on
multiple fuel sources, including natural gas as
well as methanol.” Richardson says there are
also plans to collaborate with other developers
on dirty fuels such as military logistics fuel
(JP-8) and diesel.
While small functional SOFC stacks have
already been realized from cells measuring
2 mm in diameter, ARC claims to be able to fab-
ricate cells measuring just 100 µm in diameter.
Jonathan Wills
from the likes of DaimlerChrysler, General
Motors and Volkswagen, it was intriguing to
hear Airbus, Europe’s leading aircraft manu-
facturer, sharing its plans to exploit fuel cells
in a wholly more demanding environment.
The emergence of the budget airlines, com-
bined with cut-throat competition on long-
haul routes, means that air travel has never been
easier – or cheaper. Yet the increasing number
of planes in the sky and the seemingly unstop-
pable growth of carrier fleets have led to grow-
ing public and governmental concern about the
atmospheric and wider environmental impacts
of aircraft emissions. Airbus, for its part,

THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG 31

TECHNOLOGY TRACKING
Flying high: but will the next generation of
passenger aircraft exploit fuel cells?
believes fuel-cell technology can improve the
efficiency of its aircraft, as well as reducing fuel
consumption and polluting emissions.
It all sounds great – in theory. Yet achieving
those improvements isn’t going to be easy in
the hostile conditions encountered at 41 000 ft,
where the pressure is around 0.2 bar and the
temperature a chilly –56 °C. Weight and size
are also key factors for any transport applica-
tion of fuel cells. The HFP strategic research
agenda has set targets of 3 kg/kW and 2.5 l/kW
for automotive fuel cells. Airbus plans to super-
sede this, to achieve 1 kg/kW and 1.5 l/kW –
clearly a significant challenge.
Conventional passenger aircraft have a num-
ber of power sources, including battery racks,
air turbines and an auxiliary power unit (APU),
which is typically based on a combustion-
engine generator. Peak electrical power con-
sumption in a Jumbo Jet, for example, can be of
the order of 1.2 MW, with that demand coming
simultaneously from air conditioning, landing
gear, wing-ice and rain protection, flight con-
trols and cabin entertainment systems.
“Aircraft power generation and consumption
processes consist of highly complex systems,”
Volker Hiebel, senior manager, engineering
powerplant at Airbus, told the conference. This
means that any onboard fuel-cell system needs
to be evaluated from a range of perspectives,
including “safe operation, monitoring and con-
trol, high reliability/robustness, low installation
weight and high power-density”, he added.
A number of European Commission-
funded R&D projects are evaluating fuel cells
for aviation applications. The latest is CELINA
(Fuel Cell Integration In A New Aircraft), which
runs from January 2005 to December 2007 and
is investigating target requirements for air-
craft-optimized polymer-electrolyte-mem-
brane fuel cells.
Any commercial deployment of fuel cells on
aircraft is a long way off, however. Airbus
hopes to develop a kerosene-fuelled solid-
oxide fuel-cell APU in the “next eight to 15
years”, according to Hiebel.
Jonathan Wills, Brussels
32
Transportation
From tyres to cars
Michelin presents an alternative take on fuel-cell vehicles.
Michelin, the world’s leading tyre maker, reck-
ons it can show the big auto makers in Detroit
and Japan a thing or two about next-generation
vehicle design. At the European Hydrogen and
Fuel Cell Technology Platform meeting in
Brussels in March (see also p7), the company’s
sustainable mobility group provided further
details on Hy-Light, which is claimed to be the
first vehicle designed from concept to produc-
tion with fuel-cell propulsion in mind.
Although Hy-Light is very much an early-
stage demonstrator, the specification sheet
already looks impressive: top speed of
130 km/h; 0–100 km/h in less than 12 s; curb
weight of 850 kg; and a 400 km range when
carrying four people. At the heart of it all sits a
30 kW polymer-electrolyte-membrane fuel-
cell system coupled with two 30–45 kW super-
capacitor units, giving up a constant 41 hp
(scalable to 60 hp for short periods).
Hy-Light has been developed in partnership
with researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute
(PSI) in Villigen, Switzerland, with the aim of
“highlighting credible solutions for the secu-
rity of energy supply, environmental protec-
tion and road safety”. Patrick Oliva, corporate
vice-president at Michelin, told delegates in
Brussels: “We have to concentrate on the low-
est possible use of raw materials.” Hy-Light
addresses these issues with its lightweight
design and zero (local) atmospheric pollution.
At first sight, it might seem a little odd to find a
tyre maker constructing a fuel-cell vehicle, par-
ticularly as the established car manufacturers,
all of whom are surely in a better position to do
so, are building their own hydrogen-powered
vehicles. Closer inspection, however, reveals
that Michelin’s foray into fuel cells dovetails
neatly with the group’s mission statement “to
make a sustainable contribution to progress in
the mobility of people and goods by constantly
enhancing freedom of movement, safety, effi-
ciency and pleasure when on the move”.
Sustainability aside, Hy-Light debuts several
eye-catching innovations. For starters, the car
requires an onboard supply of pure oxygen as
well as hydrogen. The two-tank architecture
eliminates any damaging impurities that may
be present in air from entering the fuel cell. The
downside is the integration of compressed-
oxygen cylinders into the vehicle shell –
although this design may not be quite as silly as
it sounds. Oxygen is produced with hydrogen
in the electrolysis of water, so small-scale elec-
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG
Conference highlight: Michelin’s Hy-Light was
road-tested by delegates attending the
European Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology
Platform meeting in Brussels.
trolysis plants could be used at filling stations to
provide oxygen and hydrogen refuelling at no
extra cost. The Hy-Light also comes with active
suspension and chassis-stability management,
which allow the car to lean into corners rather
than rolling out of them – giving superior han-
dling and comfort for those on board.
So is Hy-Light the shape of things to come?
In the near term, probably not. It seems likely
that the first generation of commercial fuel-
cell vehicles will look very similar to their con-
temporary gasoline-fuelled counterparts.
Evolution rather than revolution will be the
cheapest route to volume production, avoid-
ing the huge costs of coming up with a com-
pletely new vehicle design and drive train.
On the other hand, existing car designs are
certainly not optimized for the integration of
fuel-cell technology. Petrol/diesel fuel tanks are
relatively small and can be shaped to fit snugly
into vehicles. That’s not the case for bulky
gaseous hydrogen tanks, which must be cylin-
drical to ensure their strength under pressure.
Fuel cells also require a much larger heat radia-
tor than internal combustion engines, owing
to their lower operating temperatures. At some
point, the designers of mass-produced fuel-cell
vehicles will have to take these issues and more
into account to improve reliability and range.
To date, Michelin has funded the Hy-Light
project in partnership with PSI, though Oliva
says the company is “always ready to explore
ways to share expertise”.
● Michelin runs the annual “Challenge
Bibendum”, which tests various “clean fuel”
vehicles in real-life scenarios. For more infor-
mation, see www.challengebibendum.com.
Jonathan Wills, Brussels
 TECHNOLOGY TRACKING

Stationary power In 2003, following more than a decade of

Solid investment
Rolls-Royce’s fuel-cell development
programme has been given a timely boost.
Rolls-Royce, the UK-based aerospace, marine
and energy group, has teamed up with EnerTek,
a Singaporean consortium, to develop a com-
mercially viable stationary-power system
based on solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The two
partners will jointly invest $100 m in the Rolls-
Royce subsidiary Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems
(RRFCS), with EnerTek acquiring a 25% stake in
RRFCS as part of the deal.
The Rolls-Royce take is one of cautious opti-
mism, with chief executive Sir John Rose talk-
ing of “a prudent approach” and “a need to look
for partners who could shorten the odds on
success with both funding and relevant techni-
cal skills”. Charles Coltman, chairman of
RRFCS, added: “The commitment of $100 m in
additional funding shows how seriously we
and our partners view this opportunity.”
EnerTek is a consortium of three companies:
EDB Investments, the investment subsidiary of
the Singapore Economic Development Board
It takes money to make money: RRFCS is
partnering Singaporean consortium EnerTek
to fast-track the commercialization of SOFCs.
(EDB); Temasek Holdings, a Singapore invest-
ment company; and Accuron Technologies, a
materials-technology group that will be sup-
plying RRFCS with ceramic components as
part of the tie-up.
work on fuel cells, Rolls-Royce established
RRFCS as a wholly owned subsidiary with a
remit to manage its R&D activities in the field.
More specifically, RRFCS has gained experi-
ence in the system integration of several differ-
ent types of fuel cells, though the company
currently believes that SOFCs are the most
appropriate technology for stationary-power
generation. It also believes that SOFCs could
find applications in various transportation,
military and marine markets.
Right now, RRFCS is developing an electri-
cal power system that integrates an SOFC and a
microturbine – a hybrid approach that prom-
ises to be significantly more efficient than any
conventional gas turbine or reciprocating
engine, with far less impact on the environ-
ment. The near-term objective is a 1 MW sta-
tionary system, with commercial delivery
slated for 2008. The unit will measure approxi-
mately 12 × 2.5 × 2.5 m and weigh approxi-
mately 20 tonnes.
The EnerTek contract follows on from
another R&D agreement that Rolls-Royce
inked in December with A*Star, Singapore’s
government-owned agency for science, tech-
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THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG 33

TALKING POINT
Where the fuel-cell industry has its say on emerging technologies.
The roadmap shows the way
Ballard Power Systems has said that it will have
a commercially viable automotive fuel-cell stack
technology by 2010. Siân Harris talked to the man
who’s tasked with making it happen, while
Joe McEntee summarizes the top-line targets.
For Charles Stone, the commercialization of fuel-cell
vehicles is no longer a question of “if”, but “when”. And he
should know. Stone is vice-president of R&D at Ballard
Power Systems, the Vancouver-based manufacturer of
proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and
stacks. His mission: to turn the vision – that of fuel cells as
the logical successor to the internal combustion engine –
into a commercial reality.
One thing is certain. If there is to be a revolution in
automotive power technology, Ballard is right there at the
sharp end, not least because of its long-established R&D
partnerships with the automobile industry, and in
particular with Ford and DaimlerChrysler. Those ties
were strengthened earlier this year, when the two car-
makers invested a combined C$55 m ($44.3 m) in the
Canadian fuel-cell company, with each taking a roughly
20% stake in Ballard in the process.
Of course, for consumers, investors and policy-makers
alike, the number-one question remains the timing of
commercial fuel-cell deployment in automotive
applications. Now, however, they have a hard-and-fast
answer. At the end of March, Ballard unveiled a five-year
technology roadmap that equates to a public
commitment to demonstrate the commercial viability of
automotive fuel-cell stacks by 2010.
The document is closely aligned with the performance
targets and timelines laid out by the US Department of
Energy’s Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure
Technologies Programme. In quantitative terms, that
means Stone and his development team at Ballard have
five years to realize automotive fuel-cell stacks (in the
3–5 kW regime) with the following characteristics: 5000 h
of lifetime; freeze-start capability down to –30 °C;
volumetric power density of 2500 Wnet/l; and a fuel-cell
stack cost of $30/kWnet at a volume of 500 000 units.
“Cost and durability are the biggest challenges,” Stone
told The Fuel Cell Review. Reducing costs is not easy when
only a small number of fuel-cell systems are being made.
And maintaining durability is tough when features such as
freeze-start and operation under reduced relative humidity
are required. “The best way to address the challenges is
incrementally,” added Stone. “Many companies use
technology to show improvements in a single attribute, but
often this requires sacrificing other features.”
With this in mind, Ballard’s technology roadmap seeks
to build on a number of significant advances made by its
developers last year. Using a single optimized stack,
Ballard notched up improvements in three areas that are
critical to fuel-cell commercialization.
● Freeze-start: 50 consecutive starts from –20 °C;
34
● Durability: more than 2200 h of operation, employing a
drive-cycle testing protocol that simulated real-world driv-
ing conditions; and
● Cost: the stack design incorporated a 30% reduction in
platinum catalyst loading – from 1 mg/cm2 to 0.7 mg/cm2 –
with no reduction in performance.
Beat the clock: there’s The freeze-start capability is notable for the fact that it
plenty of work to do was achieved without any external heating or special
on issues like insulation. Stone believes the company’s current
durability, power approach can probably be extended to temperatures as
density and cost if low as –30 °C, though he concedes that external heating
Ballard is to meet its and insulation are likely to be required to reach the –40 °C
2010 deadline. target identified by some car makers.
Whatever the figures of merit, the addition of freeze-
start capability is always going to put added stresses on
fuel-cell materials and components, with system lifetime
inevitably taking a hit. In the Ballard demonstration, the
fuel-cell stack was subjected to genuine automotive
conditions, as would be required for a vehicle that was
frequently starting, stopping, accelerating to overtake and
climbing hills. Even with this demanding test cycle,
however, the system showed only a 5% degradation in
performance after 2200 h. And the triple-whammy in all
of this was the cost reduction. According to Stone, the
Ballard demonstrator manipulated the structure of the
platinum catalyst in relation to the carbon support in such
a way that it was possible to remove 30% of the precious
metal without degrading performance.
Challenges, opportunities
Recent progress notwithstanding, Ballard still has plenty
of work to do in order to achieve the targets on its 2010
roadmap. The same goes for Ballard’s suppliers –
“Cost and manufacturers of key components like membranes,
durability are catalysts and bipolar plates. Conventional perfluorinated
membranes, for example, are vulnerable to attack by the
the biggest peroxide by-products of the PEMFC reaction, though
challenges. Stone points out that manufacturers have made dramatic
The best way improvements of late. State-of-the-art membranes have
to address thicknesses of just 25–50 µm, are more resistant to
chemical attack and exhibit excellent reproducibility.
them is Looking ahead, Stone sees a “substantial role” for
incrementally.” membranes based on hydrocarbon polymers. He reckons
“they are very exciting, especially in their cost point,”
though he qualifies this statement by noting that
durability is not yet at the level of the incumbent
perfluorinated membranes. “The issue is how you take the
learning of the last 10 years in perfluorinated membranes
and apply it to hydrocarbons,” he added.
Beyond the basic fuel-cell components, the biggest
challenges for Ballard are in enhancing the overall
efficiency of the fuel-cell stack while minimizing the cost
and complexity of the balance-of-plant components.
Charles Stone, vice- High-temperature operation is also going to be critical.
president of R&D at “We want our technology to be ready by 2010 so that our
Ballard Power customers will start to set up plants to manufacture fuel-
Systems, Canada. cell cars,” Stone concluded. ●
THE FUEL CELL REVIEW | APRIL/MAY 2005 | FCR.IOP.ORG