Contents:

- Wednesday, April 27, 2005 8:50 Chairperson's Opening Remarks Jerry Hallmark, Manager, Energy Technologies, Motorola Labs - Microelectronics & Physical Sciences Lab, Motorola 8:55 The U.S. Department of Energy Opening Address: DOE PEM Fuel Cell R&D - Targets and Challenges Valri Lightner, Fuel Cells Team Leader, Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program, U.S. Department of Energy DMFC 9:10 Toshiba DMFC for Portable Applications Yasuhiro Goto, Chief Research Scientist, Corporate Research and Development Center, Toshiba Corporation, Japan We would like to introduce the development of DMFC in Toshiba for applying to mobile electronics, e.g. notebook PCs. Merits of DMFC comparing with secondary batteries will be addressed, particularly, the potential to create new using scenes and services will be emphasized by showing the video of DMFC actually working. Then, the business scope will be also addressed. 9:40 Whole Fuel Cell Product Solution for the Consumer Electronic Industry Manfred Stefener, CEO, SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG, Germany "Cut the last cord": SFC has developed viable technology and a clear roadmap towards miniaturization of Fuel Cell technology for flexible personal power sources and the integration in notebook computers including significant cost reduction to level of Li-ion technology. SFC has a proven track record being the first company world-wide with significant sales of commercial Fuel Cell product solutions. SFC is closely working with DuPont on commercial stack components and with BIC for affordable cartridges and their world-wide distribution. 10:10 DMFC Portable Power Products at MTI MicroFuel Cells: Present and Future Shimshon Gottesfeld, PhD, CTO, MTI MicroFuel Cells This talk will cover scheduled fielding by MTI MicroFuel Cells of a first DMFC-based power source product. Several facets of this product are both new and unique. It is integrated into the electronic device powered and is based on the unique, Mobion™ technology developed at MTI Micro, that allows air breathing operation, direct supply of 100% methanol and no water collection and/or pumping. Future product development plans will be covered next. 11:10 Hydrocarbon Membranes to Enable Smaller DMFC Applications James D. Balcom, CEO, PolyFuel Passive DMFC systems are the architecture of choice for the smallest applications such as cell phones, MP3 players, blue tooth wireless headsets, and even some laptop power supplies. Unfortunately yesterday's fluorocarbon membranes with their relatively low performance, high methanol cross-over and high water flux present significant challenges for the fuel cell system engineer. Today, advanced hydrocarbon membranes are available that are optimized for passive applications to enable smaller, lighter, less expensive, longer running and more robust system designs. 11:40 Critical Issues for Commercialization of Mobile DMFC and Technical Approaches Hyuk Chang, PhD, Principal Researcher, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung, Korea Ever since the technical challenges for applying DMFC as an energy source for mobile electronic devices were initiated, great progress has been achieved across the material development as well as the system design. Herewith this, cell and system performance is now approaching to the same or above the level of rechargeable batteries. However, several crucial points to be overcome are ahead in order to commercialize in the shape of quite a market share possession in the major field. In this presentation, those critical issues such as cost competency, energy density, life cycle and robustness will be analyzed. Technical approaches including nano materials, composite materials, passive operating design and micro active compartments will be discussed based on the technical progress at SAIT. 12:10 Advancements in DMFC MEAs and Stacks for Portable Power Applications Piotr Zelenay, PhD, DSc, Technical Project Leader, Electronic and Electrochemical Materials and Devices, Los Alamos National Laboratory* The fuel cell team at Los Alamos National Laboratory has directed a substantial effort at improving specific power output, overall stack performance, and performance durability over previous DMFC designs. The focus has also been on the "system-friendly" nature of the stacks, that is, to make them supportable by an efficient balance of plant (BOP). We identify a number of MEA and stack design characteristics and techniques that are of critical importance to achieving high energy/power density and other performance goals. *In collaboration with: J.C.Ramsey, LANL 12:40 Concluding Discussion for DMFC Session Microfabrication, MEMS, System Integration 1:55 Chairperson's Remarks Shimshon Gottesfeld, PhD, CTO, MTI MicroFuel Cells 2:00 Alternative Approaches for DMFC Design: Silicon-Based Systems Arthur Homa, PhD, Vice President of Engineering, Neah Power Systems This paper will discuss the latest progress and developments on Neah Power Systems' unique silicon-based DMFC. Systems based on this electrode design are being developed to power portable electronic devices in the 5-30 watt range. The talk will detail the design of the electrode structure, which is based on a porous Si membrane, and discuss how this results in a fuel cell system with high power density capability. Results will be presented which characterize the performance of these electrode structures as DMFC electrodes as well as their performance in prototype fuel cell systems. 2:30 MEMS-Based Micro-Fuel Cell Systems for Portable Power Applications Jeffrey D. Morse, PhD, Staff Scientist, Electronics, Engineering Technology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory A micro-fuel cell system incorporating novel designs enabled by MEMS structures will be described. MEMS and microfluidic structures and techniques offer inherent advantages resulting from the large surface-to-volume ratios and high level of integration possible. Exploiting these microfabrication techniques for flow field designs, and fuel processor components, very high power density fuel cell stacks and systems can be realized. Additional benefits of such systems include thermal integration whereby waste heat can be used to sustain endothermic processes in order to increase system efficiency. 3:00 Fuel Cell Architectures for Portable Power Applications Ged McLean, PhD, CTO, Angstrom Power, Canada Fuel cell technology for portable power applications is emerging as a major challenger to incumbent battery technology, with consistent improvements in fuel cell performance being delivered over the past few years. Much of this performance improvement has been made by perfecting and tuning electrochemical interfaces to allow efficient operation with particular fuels, e.g. methanol, hydrogen, direct sodium borohydride etc. However, the dominant fuel cell design being built for small power applications retains the basic physical structure of their large power predecessors. A complementary line of development to this predominant focus revolves around the structural design of the fuel cell device itself, focusing on the architecture of the system rather than the material composition of the system. In this talk the distinction between materials based and architecture based R&D will be made. Recent developments in novel fuel cell architectures from a variety of research groups will be reviewed and performance of these novel architectures will be discussed both in terms of simple power densities and performance in applications. Based on these results we will discuss the potential for novel architectures in different fueling contexts. 4:00 Micro-Fuel Cell Technology for Next Generation of Mobile Equipment Frederic Gaillard, PhD, Lab Manager Micropower Sources, Atomic Energy Commission - DTEN, France* We use micro-fabrication technology to elaborate multiple layers of fuel cell core onto a silicon substrate. The prototype devices (fuel cell core and cartridge) use hydrogen as fuel, safely produced on demand by a very innovative chemical reaction. This paper reports a PEM micro fuel cell core, which is composed by the superposition of several thin layers (anode current collector, a diffusion layer in graphite, an anode layer platinum loaded, a very thin proton conducting layer, a cathode layer platinum loaded, a cathode current collector) performed by thin-film deposition technique. Performance of such micro fuel cell core based on design and role of each layer will be discussed. A comparison of energy density between our cell's components (fuel and cartridge) and DMFC global will be also presented. *In collaboration with: J.Y.Laurent, N.Giaccometti, K.Lambert, C.Nayoze, B.Valon, and D.Marsaq, CEA-DTEN, France 4:30 Cathode Effects for Micro Fuel Cells Kevin G. Stanley, Project Leader, National Research Council of Canada Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation, Canada* Over the last five years, a significant amount of attention has been devoted to the design of anode electrodes for portable fuel cells. However, the cathode of the very small micro fuel cells also has significant challenges. For completely passive air-breathing electrodes the ambient environment can have a significant effect on the output power. This paper will consider the impact of the external environment on passive air-breathing fuel cells and suggest methods to alleviate those effects. *In collaboration with: Q.M.J.Wu, NRC Canada; M.Parameswaran, Simon Fraser University 5:00 Foil Type MEMS Fuel Cell Stefan Wagner, Dept of High Density Interconnect & Wafer Level Packaging, Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration, Germany* The miniaturization of fuel cells down to a size which allow the replacement of button size battery cells or coin type zinc air batteries is only achievable, if new fabrication technologies are deployed. Micro technologies based on foil processes were developed for the fabrication of planar PEM fuel cells of size between 1mm2 and approximately 1cm2. Key technologies involved are: sandwich laminate of polymer-stainless steel foils, lithography and patterning of free standing grid micro-structures, micro patterning of flow fields, subtractive patterning of MEA-electrodes, adhesive sealing and electrical interconnection. Although prototypes were made on wafer substrates, foil materials were used which allow low-cost fabrication in future production. Commercial MEAs were Laser patterned which allowed isolating adjacent cells at a distance as low as 200µm. A prototype with a size of 1x1cm2 and 200µm thickness consisting of three serial interconnected cells was tested. Stable long term operation at 1.5V, 40mA of over 2500 hours was demonstrated with natural air convection at the cathode. V/I curves were measured at a variety of ambient conditions between 0 and 60°C and 10% to 90% RH and were compared to large planar, self breathing PEM fuel cells with gas diffusion layers. The miniaturization of a complete system was demonstrated based on a 1 cm3 NaBH4 hydrogen generator. *In collaboration with: R.Hahn, H.Reichl 5:30 Concluding Discussion for the Day One 5:50 End of Day One - Thursday, April 28, 2005 8:00 Coffee, Pastries and Exhibit/Poster Viewing Reformer, PEM, MEAs, Stacks 8:55 Chairperson's Remarks Hyuk Chang, PhD, Principal Researcher, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung, Korea 9:00 Portable 20W Reformed Methanol-to-Hydrogen Fuel Cell System Prototype Jerry Hallmark, Manager, Energy Technologies, Motorola Labs - Microelectronics & Physical Sciences Lab, Motorola A miniature reformed methanol-to-hydrogen fuel cell system is being developed for portable power applications. An integrated fuel processor based on ceramic technology has been integrated with an elevated temperature fuel cell unit and balance of plant to evaluate a portable reformed hydrogen fuel cell (RHFC) system. Performance of the fuel processor and stack, along with the overall 20W RHFC prototype system will be discussed. 9:30 PEM Component Qualification Protocol & Experience James C. Cross III, Vice President of Technology, Nuvera Fuel Cells, Inc. Suppliers typically quote component specifications under what are thought to be idealized conditions: on high purity hydrogen, in single cell configurations, using small active areas, and under tightly controlled process conditions. Nuvera is using a full format, two cell stack as a standard platform for component performance evaluation and durability studies. With an active area of 500cm2, this translates to power levels on the order of 300 Watts. This talk will review progress in component qualification, especially with regard to durability, with observations on effects of scale. 10:00 Fundamental Aspects of Durability at the Polymer Electrolyte-Electrode Interface Sanjeev Mukerjee, PhD, Professor, Dept of Chemistry, and Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Lab, Northeastern University This presentation will focus on processes and mechanistic aspects of degradation at a polymer electrolyte-electrode interface. Salient aspects of this loss in terms of lowering of (a) electrocatalytic activity, and increase in (b) ohmic and mass transport losses will be outlined. The materials challenges in terms of electrocatalysis of PEM reactions both from the perspective of H2/Air operation as well as for direct methanol oxidation will be discussed. These discussions will cover the effects of load variations, startup and shut down, relative humidity variations and changes in partial pressure of fuel and oxidant. Further the durability of polymer electrolytes will be presented, including some which are specifically designed for elevated temperature operation. In this context the crucial issue of resistance to chemical attack by radical initiated species will be discussed. Interplay with electrocatalysis will be the focal point of this part of the presentation. 11:00 High Temperature MEA Development for PEM Fuel Cells James M. Fenton, PhD, Director, Florida Solar Energy Center, University of Central Florida* The University of Connecticut has developed innovative proton exchange membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) that provide excellent ionic conductivity and good performance in an under-saturated environment (120°C, 1 atm, 35%RH and 70°C, 1atm, dry). These MEAs are currently being evaluated for various fuel cell applications which operate on hydrogen fuel containing carbon monoxide or on pure hydrogen in the absence of reactant humidification. The favorable MEA properties are obtained by the incorporation of solid proton conductors, such as phosphotungstic acid or zirconium hydrogen phosphate, into the Nafion® ionomeric electrolyte to provide protonic conductivity at reduced water vapor pressure and assist in water retention. *In collaboration with: L.J.Bonville, H.R.Kunz, Florida Solar Energy Center, University of Central Florida 11:30 Ultra Thin Fuel Cell with Monolithically Fabricated Silicon Electrodes Masanori Hayase, Dr Eng, Precision and Intelligence Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan A novel fabrication technique of miniature fuel cell electrodes from Si wafers was developed. The fuel channels were fabricated by wet etching on Si and through porous Si layer was formed by anodizing in a HF solution. Catalyst metals were deposited inside the porous layer by wet plating. The two electrodes were hot-pressed with PEM. Maximum power density of 2mW/cm2 at 293K were observed by hydrogen feed. 12:00 Microcells™ - A New Generation of Microfiber Based Fuel Cells Ray R. Eshraghi, President and CEO, Microcell Corporation Microcells are microfiber based wholly extruded PEM fuel cells with a symmetric fibrous geometry ranging in size from a few hundred microns to a few millimeters in diameter. Microcells are scalable electrochemical cells capable of producing electrical power in a range from a hundredth of a watt to multi-kilowatt assemblies operating on hydrogen or methanol. Microcell Corporation the world leader in microfiber based PEM fuel cells has developed this technology intended for applications ranging from electric vehicles, distributed generation, portable electronics to micro-electronics. Microcell technology features a low cost, mass produced, extrusion-based fabrication process along with compact, easily serviceable and replaceable fuel cell cores. This presentation will provide an overview of Microcell technology along with performance characteristics of the cells as it relates to DMFC technology and its application for portable electronics ranging from sub-watt to 100 watt units. 1:55 Chairperson's Remarks Richard I. Masel, PhD, Professor, School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign; CTO, Renew Power 2:00 Micro Solid Oxide Fuel Cell for Portable Applications Partho Sarkar, PhD, Ceramic Engineering Group Leader, Advanced Materials Business Unit, Alberta Research Council, Inc. (ARC), Canada ARC develops Tubular Micro Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (µSOFC) for portable applications initially using ~2mm diameter single cells. Due to its thin wall (~250mm), a µSOFC has extremely high thermal shock resistance and low thermal mass. A single cell can be repeatedly introduced in a micro-burner flame from room temperature without developing cracks. These low thermal mass and high thermal shock resistance characteristics are fundamental to reducing start up and turn off time for the SOFC system. The test using gas burner as a heat source proved that cell can be started up in seconds. Current results of the development of µSOFC stack with rapid start up and with physical properties to withstand mechanical shocks associated with portable application will be discussed. 2:30 The Revolution 50™: The First Commercial Portable Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Keith A. Blakely, CEO, NanoDynamics, Inc. NanoDynamics has recently introduce the Revolution 50™, a portable solid oxide fuel cell developed for a wide range of military and commercial applications. The system operates on conventional hydrocarbon fuels and is being incorporated into a wide range of products - from battery chargers to vending machines, outdoor signage and advertising to auxiliary power for RV and diesel vehicles. A description of the performance and economic advantages of this revolutionary product will be presented. The integration of nanomaterials into cell construction and internal reforming systems has resulted in state-of-the-art power densities, operating temperatures, and efficiencies. Extending these advances into larger systems could enable transportation and stationary systems with incredible volume and weight reductions. 3:00 Portable SOFC Power Supplies Jerry L. Martin, PhD, President, Mesoscopic Devices, LLC Recent advances in solid oxide fuel cells and supporting components have enabled SOFC power supplies much smaller than previously thought possible (from 250 down to 20W). Higher power density, more robust stacks, improved thermal management and compact fuel reformers all contribute to making these systems smaller. These SOFC generators can run on common fuels, including butane, propane and kerosene. We will discuss the systems and some possible applications. 4:00 Portable Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems Aaron Crumm, PhD, President, Adaptive Materials, Inc. Adaptive Materials (AMI) is engaged with the US military to develop and deliver portable solid oxide fuel cell systems. In June of 2004, AMI demonstrated a compact 20 watt SOFC system fueled by propane and capable of 1,000 Whr/kg (10 day mission). Testing of AMI's tubular SOFC cell technology has established its thermal and mechanical shock tolerance, light weight, and fuel flexibility. AMI will present its latest achievements in portable SOFC systems including 20, 50, and 150 watts. 4:30 Direct Fuel Power Module Scott L. Swartz, PhD, Chief Technology Officer, NexTech Materials, Ltd.* NexTech Materials, Ltd. and Functional Coating Technology, LLC are collaborating on a NIST-funded ATP project to develop the Direct Fuel Power Module (DFPM). The DFPM design concept is based on integration of multiple series-connected thick-film SOFCs onto the major faces of porous flat-tube substrates. The design offers significant advantages, including high volumetric efficiency, ease of sealing, and use of hydrocarbon fuels. A primary focus of this work is the demonstration of the technology for small-scale power supplies in the 50 to 500 watt range for military and other applications. *In collaboration with: M.J.Day, NexTech Materials, Ltd.; S.A.Barnett, Functional Coating Technology, LLC 5:00 Selected Oral Poster Presentations 5:30 Concluding Discussion for the Day Two 5:50 End of Main Conference Program - Post-Conference Workshop Looking Beyond the Bubble: Alternative Micro- and Small Fuel Cell Engineering Approaches and Solutions Friday, April 29, 2005 9:00 Panel Discussion Small Fuel CellsSM: Taking the Leap for a Fully Commercial Market How Can the Industry Overcome the Barriers to Commercialization? Facilitator: James D. Balcom, PolyFuel Panelists: Keith A. Blakely, NanoDynamics James C. Cross III, Nuvera Fuel Cells Yasuhiro Goto, Toshiba Shimshon Gottesfeld, MTI MicroFuel Cells Jerry Hallmark, Motorola Jerry L. Martin, Mesoscopic Devices David L. Reichert, DuPont Manfred Stefener, SFC Smart Fuel Cells AG 10:10 Chairperson's Remarks Kevin G. Stanley, Project Leader, National Research Council of Canada Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation, Canada 10:15 What Else is There? Projections of Micro Fuel Cells Robert G. Hockaday, President, Energy Related Devices, Inc., Independent Contractor to Manhattan Scientifics, Inc. Micro fuel cells have just started to show that they can satisfy niche markets. These little fuel cells have the "right stuff" to the fill a myriad of future applications ranging from electronic power to new exotic applications. The rapid microcosm evolution of the micro fuel cell is expected to also permeate into big power systems. Samples of the dynamic attributes and applications of MicroFuel Cells™ will be shown. 10:45 Formic Acid Fuel Cells: New Possibilities for Portable Power Richard I. Masel, PhD, Professor, School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign; CTO, Renew Power* The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of recent work that demonstrates that direct formic acid fuel cells show exceptional properties for portable power applications. The talk will discuss properties of formic acid, performance of formic acid in fuel cells for portable applications, and examples of applications. *In collaboration with:, S.Ha, R.Larsen, M.Shannon, A.Wieckowski, UIUC; B.Adams, Y.Zhu, Renew Power, Inc. 11:30 Technical Hurdles for the Commercialization of Direct Fuel Cells Kenneth W. Lux, PhD, Research Associate, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces, University of Wisconsin - Madison In the popular media fuel cells are usually discussed in the context of the hydrogen economy. But fuel cells can operate, to varying degrees of practicality, by directly electrooxidizing a variety of fuels. The direct electrooxidation of fuel in a direct fuel cell eliminates the need for on-board storage or generation of hydrogen which vastly reduces the complexity of the system. However, slow electrooxidation kinetics, incomplete electrooxidation, and fuel cross-over represent hurdles to commercialization that arise when moving from hydrogen fuel cells to direct fuel cells. The choice between using hydrogen fuel cells and using direct fuel cells is a trade-off between system complexity in hydrogen fuel cells and poor electrode performance in direct fuel cells. The current status of efforts to overcome the technical hurdles direct fuel cells face and future research directions will be discussed. 12:00 New Simplified DMFC Hybrid System Using Mixed-Reactants Christine M. Martin, Vice President, Mesoscopic Devices, LLC Mesoscopic Devices is developing a fundamentally new direct methanol fuel cell system configuration based on the use of selective catalysts and a unique stack design. This new configuration enables a radical simplification of the system, eliminating two-thirds of the balance of plant components. The innovative stack design eliminates bi-polar plates, reducing stack height by 75%. 12:30 Biofuel Cells Potential for Application in Portable Power Devices Nick L. Akers, President, Akermin, Inc. Biofuel cells offer several competitive advantages over conventional fuel cells for portable applications. Biofuel cells eliminate all precious metal catalysts and can operate on a wide variety of benign fuels such as ethanol or sugar. Akermin has achieved a 16 to 32 fold increase in power density and lifetime compared to the previous state-of-the-art biofuel cells reported in literature. These technical achievements open the opportunity for commercial development of biofuel cells. 1:00 Discussion and Concluding Remarks 1:15 End of Workshop