Transcript DOCTORAL TRAINING CENTRE in

Dr Bruno G. Pollet –
[email protected]
www.fuelcells.bham.ac.uk
www.hydrogen-wm-scratch.info
Science City Hydrogen Energy away day, 22nd January 2010, HRI
DOCTORAL TRAINING CENTRE in
HYDROGEN, FUEL CELLS & THEIR
APPLICATIONS
EPSRC = £5.5M
• 9 year programme
• 50 PhD students
• 4 year PhD
• 120 credits (modules) +
dissertation
• Using existing modules and new
modules
•13 PhD students currently
registered
• PhD projects covering Hydrogen
generation, Hydrogen storage, Fuel
Cell and system integration
• Next interview date: 14th /15th
April
What is a Fuel Cell?
A Fuel Cell is an electrochemical “device” that
continuously converts chemical energy into
electrical energy for as long as the reactants
(fuel and oxidant) are supplied
What is an MEA?
Flow Field Plate (FFP)
Gas diffusion layer
(GDL) and catalyst layer (CL)
[Pt/C ‘ink’]
Proton exchange
Membrane (PEM)
e.g. Nafion
MEA thickness1 mm max.;
GDL 330um;
PEM 50um;
CL 10-30um
Objectives for Improved PEMFC
Performance

Decrease in Pt loading due to high cost of Pt
down to 0.05 mg.cm-2 (A&C) for a 50kW stack

Smaller active layer for better diffusion & less
ohmic drop

Increase in catalyst surface area i.e. decrease
Pt size e.g. < 10nm (2 – 4nm)
PEM Fuel Cell Research
 Low-cost, high-performance & durable ‘engineered’ materials for low-temperature
and high-temperature PEMFC in line with the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE)
technical targets;
 Novel low cost materials with high performance & longevity for: current collector
plate (CCP), bipolar plate (BPP), gas diffusion layer (GDL), catalyst layer (CL),
electrocatalyst (EC) and proton exchange membrane (PEM)
 Developing novel low cost fabrication methods & processes for such materials and
MEAs (e.g. ultrasound & sonochemistry)
 New test methods (ex-situ & in-situ diagnostic) development for determining
physical properties, performance & durability of PEMFC
 Improving electrocatalysts & noble base metal alloys, catalyst utilisation and
electrode design
 Developing & characterising non-noble (non-precious) nano-sized metal
electrocatalysts in views of reducing cost while improving on performance and
durability
 PEMFC stack development, Balance of Plant (BoP) and system integration; and
Developing, testing and commissioning low cost, high performance Hydrogen Fuel
Cell Hybrid Vehicles (HFCHVs)
PEM Fuel Cell Research projects
•Modelling of Novel Tubular Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAS) for
PEMFC applications – DTC Student
• Novel Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle for Transportation in the UK –
DTC Student
• Low-cost High performance Membrane Electrode Assemblies for the
Automotive sector – DTC Student
•Size-selected MoS_2 Nanoclusters for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production
- – DTC Student
•Development of Low Cost High Performance Bipolar Plates for PEMFC
Applications – EPSRC Case Student
• Development of Low Cost High Performance non-precious
Electrocatalysts for PEMFC – EPSRC Student
•Development and Characterisation of Novel supports for Electrocatalysts –
SF Student
• Development of low cost PEMFC stack – SF Student
Comparison of MEA Performance
between anodes prepared by a) the galvanostatic pulse method in the absence of ultrasound
[], b) the sono-galvanostatic pulse method (20 kHz, 29 W.cm-2) [] and c) conventional
method (0.30 mg Pt cm-2 electrodes) []. The fuel cell testing parameters were H2/O2 (1.5/2
stoics), 70oC and 1 atm.
- Electrodes prepared
sonoelectrochemically showed
better performance
- A power density value of
98.5mW.cm-2 was found for
anodes prepared
sonoelectrochemically compared
with 91.5mW.cm-2 (by
galvanostatic pulse method
alone) & 86mW.cm-2 (by
conventional method),
- An increase of ca. 12mW.cm-2
was found using the sonogalvanostatic pulse method
* B.G. Pollet, A Novel Method for Preparing PEMFC Electrodes by the Ultrasonic
and Sonoelectrochemical Techniques, Electrochem. Comm., 11, 2009, 1445
SEM
Study
Top View
Side View
CL
Silent
GDL
CL
US
GDL
Production of NP Pt
Ultrasonically
V. Zin, B.G. Pollet and M. Dabalà, Sonoelectrochemical (20
kHz) Production of Platinum Nanoparticles from Aqueous
Solutions, Electrochim. Acta, 54(28), 2009 7201.
BGP’s Outputs for 2009
 PBL Chaurasia, K. Kendall, W. Bujalski, S. Du and B.G. Pollet, Influence of Temperature on V-I
characteristics for Solar Power Generation based on Chemical Method using Fuel Cell, International
Journal of Chemical Sciences: 7(3), 2009, 1893-1904
B.G. Pollet, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Conference: For a Low Carbon Future, Platinum Metal Review,
53(2), 2009, 78.
V. Zin, B.G. Pollet and M. Dabalà, Sonoelectrochemical (20 kHz) Production of Platinum Nanoparticles
from Aqueous Solutions, Electrochim. Acta, 54(28), 2009 7201.
 B.G. Pollet, A Novel Method for Preparing PEMFC Electrodes by the Ultrasonic and
Sonoelectrochemical Techniques, Electrochem. Comm., 11, 2009, 1445
 K. Kendall, B.G. Pollet, A. Dhir, I. Staffell, B Millington and J. Jostins, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hydrid
Vehicles For Birmingham Campus, J. of Power Sources, accepted December 2009.
 S. Gouws, N. Gojela, B.G. Pollet and B. Zeelie, Hydrogen Production from Water Electrolysis, Grove
Fuel Cell Symposium, London, UK 22- 24 September 2009.
 J. Shang, B.G. Pollet, K. Kendall, Novel Type of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid Scooter, Grove Fuel Cell
Symposium, London, UK 22- 24 September 2009.
B.G. Pollet and K. Kendall, The University of Birmingham Fleet of Zero Emission Hydrogen Powered
Cars, GreenFleet magazine, 2009
B.G. Pollet, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies –
An Overview, Sustainable Solutions magazine, 2009
BGP’s Outputs for 2009
 DTC launch in November 2009 (hosted)
 TSB-Cenex event low carbon vehicle Exhibition '09 – dissemination in
conference
 Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, USA – dissemination
 Ministries of Energy and Infrastructure, Research and Innovation and,
Economic Development in Toronto (Ontario, Canada) – dissemination
 Sustainability Live 2009 Sustainability Live 2009 – dissemination in
conference
 MoU with Ontario region & UoB – HFC activities
 MoU with University of Waterloo & School of Chemical Engineering
 MoU with University of Ontario Institute of Technology & School of
Chemical Engineering
 In progress – MoU with National Fuel Cell Research Centre, USA