Alternative Energy Technologies:

Fuel Cells

Allan J. Jacobson
Center for Materials Chemistry
University of Houston

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 1

 Future Fuels and Electricity
• Now:
– Fossil fuels: natural gas, oil, coal
– Gas, steam turbines, combined cycle

• Intermediate:
– Hydrogen from fossil fuels
– Fuel cells and new processes
– Distributed systems
– Superconducting transmission lines
–
• Future
– Nuclear
– Solar
– Hydrogen from water
• Electrolysis
• Thermal from HT nuclear reactors
• Photo-electrolysis
– Renewables
– ‘Supergrid’

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 2

 Key Drivers

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 3

 Sources of Hydrogen

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 4

 What is a Fuel Cell?

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 5

 Fuel Cell Operation

500 – 1000 °C

porous cathode
electrolyte/membrane
Cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte sandwiched between the two.
Oxygen from the air flows through the cathode
A fuel gas containing hydrogen, such as methane, flows past the anode.
Oxygen ions migrate through the electrolyte and react with the hydrogen to form water
Water reacts with the methane fuel to form carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
Electrons from the electrochemical reaction flow from anode to cathode through an external
load

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 6

 Advantages of Fuel Cells

• High efficiency
• Modular
• Quiet
• Non Polluting - no NOx
• Distributed
• Combined heat and power
• Load flexible

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 7

 Fuel Cell History

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 8

 Fuel Cell History

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 9

 Fuel Cell Types I

Alkaline (AFC) developed for the

Apollo program
Polymer membrane (PEMC) leading
candidate for transportation
Phosphoric acid (PAFC) 200kW units
commercially available for combined
heat and power (CHP)
Molten carbonate (MCFC) and solid
oxide (SOFC) can work directly with
hydrocarbon fuels – 200+kW
demonstration units

Taken from B. C. H. Steele & A. Heinzel, Nature, 414 (2001) 345

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 10

 Fuel Cell Types II

Taken from B. C. H. Steele & A. Heinzel, Nature, 414 (2001) 345

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 11

 PEMFC

• Electrodes (anode and the cathode) separated by a polymer membrane electrolyte.

• Each of the electrodes is coated on one side with a thin platinum catalyst layer.
• The electrodes, catalyst and membrane form the membrane electrode assembly.
• Hydrogen and air are supplied on either side through channels formed in the flow field plates

Ballard® fuel cell

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 12

 Advanced Fuel Cell Electrodes-PEM

• A current DOE target is to develop alternative electrodes to

replace the Pt and Pt-Ru electrodes that are used as cathode
and anode electrocatalysts in PEM fuel cells.
• Ideally the anode catalyst would be tolerant to CO and S
present in the hydrogen fuel.
• The figure shows a new class of non-Pt electrocatalysts % Anode = 0.35 mg/cm2 Pt Loading
% Anode = 0.72 mg/cm2 catalyst loading
that have activity comparable to Pt as shown by the 140

performance of cell with the new catalyst as the anode. 1.0

120

0.8 100

Power Density, (mW/cm2)

Voltage (V)
80
0.6

60
0.4
40

0.2
20

0.0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Current Density (mA/cm2)

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 13

 SOFC

Cathode (La,Sr)MnO3 1.5 m extruded tubular (2.2 mm) porous cathode

Interconnection (La,Sr)CrO3 plasma spraying (85 m)
Electrolyte 8%Y2O3-ZrO2 thick-film (30–40 m)
Anode Ni/ 8%Y2O3-ZrO2 porous layer (100 m) by a slurry-spray process
Siemens Westinghouse fuel cell
07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 14
07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 15
07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 16
07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 17
 Future Applications
Application Size (kW) Fuel cell Fuel

Power systems 0.001–0.05 PEMFC hydrogen

for portable DMFC methanol
electronic devices SOFC methanol

Micro-Combined Heat 1–10 PEMFC LPG

and Power SOFC Natural gas, LPG

Auxiliary power units 1–10 SOFC LPG

Distributed Combined Heat 50–250 PEMFC natural gas

and Power MCFC natural gas
SOFC natural gas

City buses 200 PEMFC hydrogen

Large power units 1000–10,000 SOFC/GT natural gas

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 18

 Technical Challenges

Many Challenges in Materials and Materials Processing

– CO tolerant electrocatalysts
– Better membranes for PEMFC and DMFC

– Intermediate temperature high performance

electrodes

– Low cost fabrication processes for SOFC

– New materials!

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 19

Core Technology Program Participants:

Gas Technology Institute – Des Plaines, IL

Georgia Tech Research – Atlanta, GA
Montana State University – Bozeman, MT
NexTech Materials, Ltd – Worthington, OH
Northwestern University – Evanston, IL
Southwest Research Institute – San Antonio, TX
Texas A&M University – College Station, TX
University of Florida – Gainesville, FL
University of Illinois – Chicago, IL
University of Houston – Houston, TX
University of Missouri – Rolla, MO
University of Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh, PA
University of Utah – Salt Lake City, UT Current Industrial Teams
University of Washington – Seattle, WA
Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, VA
Argonne National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
National Energy Technology Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Sandia National Laboratories
07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 20
 Water Electrolysis

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 21

 Sources of Hydrogen

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 22

 Hydrogen Production
Membrane reactor CO2
Sequestration

CO2
CO2 +H2
Hydrogen
Water Gas Separation
Shift Reactor Device
(PSA, HTM)
CO +H2
H2

Fuel Cells

07/03/21 A.J. Jacobson – CMC-UH 23