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Stationary and Portable Applications of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Shahram Mehdipour-Ataei* and Maryam Mohammadi

Faculty of Polymer Science, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been extensively evaluated for transportation applications due to the advantages such as lightweight, fast start-up, and zero emission. Some commercial products are also now being used worldwide. Moreover, because of the increasing advancement of technology and the integration of human life with new electronic technologies as well as the Internet, there is a growing trend for alternative or auxiliary sources of power for battery systems and portable devices. In addition, the requisite sources of power in areas that are remote and suffer from energy shortages are the other challenge. PEMFCs are the future vision for powering stationary and portable resources from massive power plants to cell phones. This chapter presents a variety of stationary and portable applications of PEMFCs, including hydrogen, alcohol, microbial, and micro fuel cells. Each section presents applications, achievements, and challenges. Finally, the prospects for the development of these technologies as reliable and applicable sources in the real world are presented.

Keywords: PEM fuel cell, applications, portable, stationary, hydrogen fuel cell, methanol fuel cell, microbial fuel cell, micro fuel cell

1.1 Introduction

Because of the zero or very low emission, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are promising in transportation. The first commercial application of these technologies in transportation may be urban buses. The Scania hybrid bus is an example of this technology. In addition, fuel cells are applicable in any energy-driving device. The power of less than 1 W to several megawatts can be supplied by this technology due to the modularity, static nature, and variety. These features make a fuel cell a substitute for conventional heat engines used for transportation and power generation. Fuel cells are also an integral part of future technologies for energy conversion and storage, along with electrolyzers, batteries, flow systems, and renewable energy technologies. Lack of global market, high capital, high cost of components, and durability are the limiting factors of the mass market. However, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, and others have commercialized their own products. Thus, the widespread usage of this technology has been made possible bypassing fossil fuel-powered to fuel cell-powered vehicles. Moreover, the use of fuel cells in US space programs continues, and PEMFCs are also considered for this purpose [1-11].

Fuel cell applications can be considered into three groups: portable, stationary, and transportation.

Low-temperature fuel cells are fit for portable and emergency power due to the short heating time. Portable fuel cells perform in the power range of 5-500 watts. Some examples of portable applications of PEMFCs in real-world include portable power generators for light personal usage in camping, continuous power systems, portable power sources as a replacement for batteries in laptops, computers, cell phones, radios, cameras, military electronics, boats, scooters, toys, kits, home lighting, emergency lights, and chargers.

Fuel cells can also regareded for stationary power generation including in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. In addition, by using fuel cells that operate in the range of medium to high temperature, the use of excess generated heat increases the overall efficiency and offers useful power for heating domestic water and space. A static power range of 1-50 MW can be supplied by PEMFCs. In telecommunication applications as an example of small-scale stationary power, the power range is 1-100 kW. Some applications of PEMFCs for stationary power supply include emergency backup (EPS) or uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for telecommunication networks, airports, hospitals, and training centers; remote or local power supply for small villages, buildings, and military camps; micro fuel cells, combined heat and power generation (CHP), and power regulation systems, in which surplus electricity is stored to hydrogen by electrolysis of water and converted into electricity when needed.

Transportation applications of PEMFCs include diverse types of trucks, buses, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, golf vehicles, service vehicles, boats, submarines, aircraft, and locomotives [3, 11-18].

Fuel cell applications can be also classified on the basis of a special need or removing a problem. High reliable power (computer equipment, communication facilities, and call as well as data processing centers), emission reduction or elimination (vehicles, industrial facilities, airports, and areas with severe emission standards for greenhouses), limited access to the electricity grid (rural or remote areas), and the availability of biogas (waste treatment plants and conversion of waste gases into electricity and heat with slight environmental impact by fuel cells) are in this classification [19].

The leading countries in the development of fuel cells include United States, Germany, Japan, Canada, and South Korea [18].

1.2 Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

PEMFCs are the most common types of fuel cell technology that are the focus of studies. The high power density, fast start-up, low manufacturing cost, long lifetime, flexibility, and widespread use in portable devices, transportation, and stationary applications are the superior characteristics of these types of cells compared to other types of fuel cells. About 90% of research studies and developments in fuel cells are in the field of PEMFCs; low operating temperatures and, therefore, reduced heat loss, small size, and lightweight make them suitable for automotive and transportation applications. They are a good choice for powering buses and commercial hydrogen vehicles as well. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells have also been developed as a suitable replacement for existing batteries.

One of the most well-known research centers of PEMFCs is Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), which has released valuable achievements. In addition, renewable energy laboratories all over the world are representing their new successes every day [11, 17, 20-24].

1.2.1 Stationary Applications

In the early 1990s, according to the attained results from the performance and cost of PEMFCs for transportation applications, these types of cells were considered stationary, albeit with limited heat output.

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are capable of producing power in the range of a few watts to hundreds of kilowatts. Thus, these cells are applicable in almost any application that requires local power, including backup, remote, and uninterruptible power supply. The stationary application of PEMFCs includes decentralized power generation at the scale of 50-250 kW or less than 10 kW. However, it is required to focus on the small power range of 1-5 kW in the UPS or auxiliary power unit systems to be used for medium or large appliances for stationary applications [14, 24-27].

The distributed power of PEMFCs is usable for stationary applications in a variety of locations. Some of the applications include the main power source for areas where there is no access by the grid, supplementary power supply that operates in parallel with the power grid, supplementary power supply in renewable energy systems like photovoltaic and wind turbines, and emergency generators to remove power grid faults. Initial ages of stationary PEMFCs were designed for the residential power supply to use the generated heat for domestic, which significantly increases efficiency. A 250-kW stationary unit developed by Ballard Generation that runs on natural gas; other types that work with propane, hydrogen, or anaerobic digestion gas have also been designed and fully established. Besides, prototype units have been successfully achieved in the United States, Japan, and Europe [11, 13, 14, 16, 24, 25, 28, 29].

The backup power market for banks, hospitals, and telecommunications, in which there is a need for reliable power sources to prevent unexpected power downfall that causes very high cost, has attracted a lot of attention. Nonetheless, the high cost of PEMFCs is still an obstacle limits the global usage of stationary applications. Nonetheless, several commercial units such as CHP GenSysTM Blue Plug Power, Ballard FCgenTM 1020 ACS, and Ballard FCgen 10 -1030V3 fuel cell systems have been established in several places [11, 12, 14, 15].

The CHP GenSysTM fuel cell system has been installed in New York State for domestic. Ballard Power System is also available for use on telecommunication tower sites in India and Denmark to provide backup power. Besides, a model project was carried out in 2008 in Japan for the installation of ENE FARM class residential fuel cell. Small stationary units with a power of less than 10 kW were also installed for domestic usage, uninterruptible power supply, and backup power in commercial and remote locations [11, 16, 28].

Among the numerous successful projects, the Ballard Generation system is the largest plant to date. The output power of this plant is 250 kW. This PEMFC system is powered by natural gas and can be efficiently used as...