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CHAPTER 1 The Department of Energy Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Research and Development Activities Tim Armstrong, PhD, Program Manager, Fuel Cells and Functional Materials, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy The DoE emphasizes polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells as replacements for internal combustion engines in light-duty vehicles to support the goal of reducing oil use in the transportation sector. In addition, the program also supports fuel cells for stationary power, portable power and auxiliary power applications to a limited degree where earlier market entry would assist in the development of a fuel cell manufacturing base. The technical focus is on developing materials and components that reduce fuel cell system cost and extend durability. CHAPTER 2 Challenges and Opportunities in Deploying Commercial Fuel Cell Systems Andrew P. Wallace, Director of Technology Development, Jadoo Power Jadoo Power will present gathered consumer field data detailing the practical impacts of fuel cell system deployment. Jadoo systems have logged over 100,000 hours with over 75,000 start stops while operated by consumers. The critical design choices for PEM fuel cells used to satisfy start/stop reliability requirements and operational duty cycles will be presented. CHAPTER 3 Enabling New Product Designs for Emerging Markets with Fuel Cells Ronald J. Kelley, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO, Gecko Energy Technologies, Inc. Fuel cells should free designers from the physical restrictions and energy constraints of batteries. The characteristics of fuel cell systems enable applications that simply cannot be done in an economical way with conventional battery packs. Designs that take advantage of the unique capabilities and form factors inherent in fuel cell systems; enabling new devices in emerging markets of sensing, wireless networking, remote monitoring, and more will be presented. CHAPTER 4 Fuel Cells for Portable Communications Jerry Hallmark, Manager Energy Technologies - Motorola Labs, Motorola Today's portable communications devices are becoming more complex with new features being added to extend capabilities. There is also an increasing need for extended operation "in the field" without the ability to recharge batteries from the grid. This is causing an "energy crisis" and Motorola is evaluating several fuel cell technologies to address these issues. Various system configurations are being considered, including external power sources for charger, hybrid fuel cell/batteries and direct fuel cell power. CHAPTER 5 Development of DMFC for Mobile Applications at Toshiba Yasuhiro Goto, Chief Research Scientist, Advanced Functional Materials Laboratory, Corporate R&D Center, Toshiba Corporation, Japan In this presentation, we will cover the current state and future scope of the development of mobile DMFC at Toshiba. Several prototypes for some mobile electronics will be introduced. Active type or passive type is selected for the fabrication of the prototypes depending on the required properties (e.g. output power and size) of each application. Technical issues still remaining for commercialization will be also addressed. CHAPTER 6 Advancement in DMFC Electrode/MEA Structure & Diagnostic Methods Emory S. De Castro, PhD, Executive Vice President, E-TEK Division, PEMEAS Fuel Cell Technologies Many factors influence DMFC performance - from catalyst, electrode structure, membrane, to operations. As an integrated components company E-TEK investigates the interaction of these elements. Electrode structure is crucial for DMFC MEA performance. On the cathode side, one needs to compromise between water ejection and catalyst utilization, and on the anode side a trade-off between methanol accessibility and cross-over. Both PtRu anode and Pt cathode catalysts need to be finely dispersed and possess large surface areas, while the anode's PtRu needs to be well alloyed for good electrochemical activity and chemical stability. Diagnostic methods are important to optimize electrode/gdl structure and operations. Methods have been developed to examine the existence and extent of cathode flooding and the capability of cathode structure in managing water accumulation, as well as the extent of methanol penetration into anode porous structure and cross-over. Critical issues in commercial production of MEAs will also be discussed. CHAPTER 7 The Role of the Membrane in Determining DMFC System Performance Philip Cox, PhD, Vice President of Product Development, PolyFuel, Inc. The membrane is at the heart of the fuel cell and has an interdependent interaction with the other components of the fuel cell system. By engineering the properties of hydrocarbon membranes, the system designer can optimize the key system characteristics that affect power density, fuel efficiency and fuel cell operating conditions under a range of system architectures. We will discuss the specific membrane characteristics that can influence cell and stack performance, and which in turn determine overall system functionality. CHAPTER 8 Development of the "Solid-State Methanol" Fuel for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) Shigeaki Satoh, General Manager & New Energy Project Leader, Kurita Water Industries Ltd., Japan Methanol, the fuel used in DMFC, is highly flammable and requires cautious handling. At room temperature methanol is liquid, raising the issue of leakage from a fuel cartridge. We are reporting on our development of the world first "Solid-State Methanol" fuel: applying a clathrate compound technology, in which we have succeeded in improving the safety and portability of methanol. In addition, this technology can apply to the storage of hydrogen fuel. CHAPTER 9 A Micro Fuel Processor with Microreactor for a Small Fuel Cell System Yoshihiro Kawamura, Dr Eng, Assistant Manager, Core Technologies R&D Division, CASIO Computer Co., Ltd., Japan As the advent of a ubiquitous computing environment, a high-performance power source of mobile electronic devices has been desired. CASIO has developed a micro fuel processor with a methanol reformer for "on-demand production" of hydrogen for a small PEMFC system, in this several years. This paper focuses on the microreactor technology applied for the micro fuel processor, including the summarized note of our small PEMFC system. CHAPTER 10 Chemical Hydride Technology for Portable PEM FC Applications Richard M. Mohring, PhD, Senior Director, Technology & Engineering, Millennium Cell, Inc. Millennium Cell is developing chemical hydride-based hydrogen storage technology to power PEM fuel cells for portable devices across diverse applications within the military, medical, industrial, and consumer markets. These power sources combine Millennium Cell's patented Hydrogen on Demand technology with either active or passive PEM fuel cells, depending on the application. Current system designs, performance testing results, and future technology direction will be presented. CHAPTER 11 High Power Passive Type PEFC Using Chemical Hydride Fumiharu Iwasaki, Manager, R&D Division, Micro & Nano Technology Center, Seiko Instruments Inc., Japan In this paper we report the completion of technology development for a small scale fuel cell system initially presented last year at the Small Fuel Cells 2006 conference. Hydrogen fuel in this system is generated from chemical hydrides without power consumption. Taking into consideration that high power is an extremely important characteristic of a fuel cell, we have developed a system with higher power output than for the previously demonstrated passive model. At this meeting we will present the new high power passive type PEFC and will discuss its performance and characteristics. CHAPTER 12 CEA Development of a DBFC (Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells) Philippe Capron, PhD, DTNM/LCH, Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) - LITEN, France CEA recently has carried out development of new technology for portable fuel cells, namely DBFC (Direct Borohydride Fuel Cell), which operates at room temperature. Fuel cell core of these systems is formed by an alkaline anion-exchange membrane and composite electrodes made of specific catalysts in which non-noble metals may be used (e.g. Ag, Ni). High theoretical level of electromotive force (1,64V compared to 1,23V for PEMFC), and theoretical yield (0,91 compared to 0,83 for PEMFC) are the main advantages of the DBFC. Moreover the use of borohydride-based liquid fuel makes it possible to reach high specific energy and to be competitive on the small power devices market. In this presentation DBFC technology developed at CEA along with our recent R&D results will be presented. Technological "lock-in" and perspectives will be also discussed. CHAPTER 13 Compact Mixed-Reactant DMFCs: Enabling Stack Power Densities of Greater than 500 W/L Olaf Conrad, PhD, Head of Future Technologies, CMR Fuel Cells (UK) Ltd., United Kingdom The CMR team has successfully developed and demonstrated its unique and broadly patented mixed-reactant flow-through fuel cell stack architecture as early as 2001 and since then improved the technology for DMFC stacks to enable power densities of several hundred Watts per liter. This presentation reviews our achievements in materials development and MEA architecture. CHAPTER 14 Breakthroughs and Challenges in Platinum Free Portable Power Xiaoming Ren, PhD, Vice President, Fuel Cells Technology, Acta S.p.A., Italy Increasing attention is being paid to the new technology of platinum free catalysts in alkaline anionic membrane fuel cells for portable power applications. Acta is a leading solution provider in this field with its breakthrough range of HYPERMEC platinum free catalysts. This presentation will review performance achievements to date with multiple fuels and at a range of temperatures, and will outline remaining challenges to commercialization as well as some possible solutions. CHAPTER 15 Portable Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems Jerry L. Martin, PhD, President, Mesoscopic Devices, LLC Compact, portable solid oxide fuel cell generators have been demonstrated recently that build on advances in lightweight, efficient balance of plant equipment and high power density stacks. Mesoscopic Devices is developing 75 and 250 Watt SOFC generators. Versions of these systems have been demonstrated operating on kerosene and propane. We will present the latest results for these generator demonstrations. CHAPTER 16 Commercialization of Portable Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems Aaron Crumm, PhD, President, Adaptive Materials, Inc. Adaptive Materials has developed micro-tubular fell cell systems for military applications in the 20 to 50W power range. Often overlooked at the lower power levels, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology offers a few key advantages for use in military applications. Among these advantages is the use of commercially available light hydrocarbons as a fuel source and the potential to migrate to heavy hydrocarbons like JP8. In addition, use of energy dense hydrocarbons like propane, enable AMI systems to operate at energy densities in excess of 1000 Watt-hours/kg (20W), with the future potential opportunity to exceed 1500 Wh/kg over a ten day mission. These metrics far exceed current battery technologies and offer a significant weight reduction for individual soldiers. Adaptive Materials has conducted some initial field testing of its systems and has overcome some major obstacles in commercializing this technology for military applications. This oral presentation will outline AMI's military related development efforts addressing the most critical and often identified challenges associated with the use of SOFC systems in the military. These challenges include: size, durability, net system efficiency, operation in extreme environments, load following, thermal and acoustic signatures, and sulfur tolerance. CHAPTER 17 Elegant Hydrogen Generation Based on Reactive Metal Alloys Erhard Ogris, PhD, Chief Technical Officer, Alvatec Production and Sales GesmbH, Austria Hydrogen based PEM fuel cells have still a lot of advantages comparing to DMFCs like size, life time or efficiency. The biggest challenge of hydrogen based fuel cells is the safe maintenance with sufficient fuel. Alvatec has found an elegant way to generate pure hydrogen by a reaction of metal alloys and hydrogen delivering substances. Our Hydrogen sources provide high and constant hydrogen rate as well as easy handling, high safety and low cost. CHAPTER 18 Easy-To-Replace Passive Type Fuel Cell Sticker Anders Lundblad, PhD, CTO myFC AB, Sweden myFC AB has developed a passive type fuel cell sticker which is adhesively attached to a support with hydrogen feed. Despite a very simple design, the myFC fuel cell sticker can provide power density levels of up to 300 mW/cm2. myFC's fuel cell stickers are suitable for mass production (i.e. inexpensive) and easy to replace after its service life. The talk will present performance data, life-time data, manufacturing cost forecasts and discuss some early application markets. CHAPTER 19 High-Performance Microfluidic Vanadium Fuel Cell Erik Kjeang, Research Associate, Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic), University of Victoria, Canada We demonstrate a new vanadium-based microfluidic fuel cell design with high-surface area porous carbon electrodes. Our device exhibits a peak power density of 70 mW/cm2 at room temperature, which is significantly higher than any previously reported type of microfluidic fuel cell. In addition, low-flow rate operation demonstrates unprecedented levels of fuel utilization. The proposed design facilitates cost-effective and rapid fabrication, and would be applicable to most microfluidic fuel cell architectures. CHAPTER 20 Membrane-Electrode Interfacial Degradation in Direct Methanol Fuel Cells: Origin, Diagnosis and Solutions Yu Seung Kim, PhD, and Bryan Pivovar, PhD, Los Alamos National Laboratory Interfacial incompatibility between polymer electrolyte membrane and Nafion-bonded catalyst layer could cause a significant performance loss in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). In this talk, we will focus on the origin, diagnosis and solution for the membrane-electrode interfacial degradation of DMFC system. Improved long-term performance (up to 3,000 h) of interface compatible membrane-electrode assemblies using various low permeable alternative membranes will be demonstrated. CHAPTER 21 Durability and Stability Issues on Mobile DMFC: Analysis & Technical Solution Hyuk Chang, PhD, Vice President / SAIT Master, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung, Korea While redoubling the effort to increase power performance of mobile DMFC to commercial level, serious consideration of the durability and stability issues is now required as well. Durability behavior of catalysts was investigated in the atomic scale and found redeposition of decomposed anode catalyst atoms at cathode, which was formed with the intermixture of defective nanocrystalline and amorphous structure. Full passive fuel delivery mechanism was analyzed and a typical logic for stability control was suggested. The author would like to discuss the technical solution for achievement of continuous and steady operation in active and full passive conditions, respectively, so that mobile DMFC technology can reach to consumer's hand. Prototypes of mobile systems will be also discussed. CHAPTER 22 Water Management and MEA Issues Affecting Durability of Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells George H. Miley, PhD, Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Direct Sodium Borohydride PEM fuel cells utilizing either air or hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant present unique advantages relative to other small high power-density portable units [G.H. Miley, et al, "Direct NaBH4/H2O2 fuel cells," Journal of Power Sources (2006) Article in Press, see: doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2006.10.062]. The water solvent for the fuel mitigates membrane hydration issues faced in typical H2 fuel cells. However, a water management scheme becomes crucial for long operation times. Water recirculation is essential to maintain the solubility of the NaBH4 fuel and the reaction product NaBO2, thus avoiding eventual clogging of the MEA due to precipitation of either species. In addition, the design of the diffusion layer and catalyst deposition technique become crucial to prevent small pore hold up or erosion over long run times. These run time durability issues will be discussed. CHAPTER 23 PANEL DISCUSSION Degradation / Durability Studies and Validation for Micro- and Small Fuel Cells: "Should Do" or "Must Do" Panel Moderator: Emory S. De Castro, E-TEK Division, PEMEAS Fuel Cell Technologies Panelists: Philip Cox, PolyFuel, Inc. Jerry Hallmark, Motorola Labs George Miley, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Xiaoming Ren, Acta S.p.A. Questions addressed by this Panel Discussion include but are not limited to: - What is the gap between what has been achieved for lifetime and what is needed? - Can higher precious metal (PM) loadings decrease the gap between performance/lifetime and application needs? - Would PM recovery change this equation? Consumer recycling? - Will anode lifetime solutions come from materials (better alloys) or engineering (management of start-stop cycles)? - Will platinum-ruthenium alloys work for commercial systems or does a new anode catalyst need to be invented? - Do "hot" technologies (RMFC) offer earlier entry to portable compared to DMFC? - Is the inherent decrease in PM and increase in power offset by higher system complexity/cost? - Is durability made worse with RMFC?

Companies Mentioned

- Casio - Jadoo Power - Los Alamos National Laboratory - Motorola - Samsung - Seiko - Toshiba - U.S. Department of Energy