Performance and lifetime analysis of the kW-class PEMFC stack

• Published in: Journal of power sources Vol. 106; no. 1; pp. 295 - 303
• Main Authors: Ahn, S.-Y., Shin, S.-J., Ha, H.Y., Hong, S.-A., Lee, Y.-C., Lim, T.W., Oh, I.-H.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01-04-2002; Elsevier Sequoia
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Equipments for energy generation and conversion: thermal, electrical, mechanical energy, etc; Exact sciences and technology; Fuel cells; Lifetime analysis; Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC); Stack; Lifetime analysis; Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC); Stack; Lifetime; Performance analysis; Polymer electrolytes; Proton exchange membrane fuel cells; Electrochemical characteristic
• ISSN: 0378-7753; 1873-2755
• DOI: 10.1016/S0378-7753(01)01032-1

A counter-flow type 40-cell proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack with an effective electrode area of 200
cm
2 has been assembled and its performance was investigated. Under the condition of atmospheric pressure and 75
°C, the maximum power of the stack was 2.89
kW (0.36
W/cm
2 per cell) and 2.3
kW (0.29
W/cm
2 per cell) for H
2/O
2 and H
2/Air, respectively. However, the stack showed a rapid decay in performance after continuous operation of 1800
h. Electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer analyses revealed that degradation of the catalyst and contamination of the polymer electrolyte membrane were the main causes of such sudden decay.