Component Development for Improved MEA and Stack Stability

The project aim is to develop new materials and components for hydrogen fuelled PEMFC MEAs and stacks that demonstrate much lower performance degradation rates, of less than 10µV/hr, in both automotive and stationary applications under real-life operating conditions, whilst maintaining high performance. The focus is on materials developments and solutions to several operational modes known to impact MEA and bipolar plate stability, including load cycling, start-stop cycling, fuel starvation and cold starts. The impact of these on the constituent MEA layers, seals and gaskets and metallic bipolar plate corrosion will be studied via development, establishment and operation of a series of accelerated test protocols. New in-situ cell and stack diagnostics and ex-situ characterisation methods will be developed to support the accelerated testing. Final MEAs incorporating new catalyst materials, GDL and catalyst layer structures will be assembled into several short stacks for evaluation under relevant automotive and stationary drive cycles, to demonstrate the improved stability in durability tests up to 5,000 hours.