Hydrogen Electrolyser and Fuel Cell

It is well known that polymer membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are attractive for future vehicle, portable and combined heat and power applications. General requirements of PEMFCs are: good chemical and thermal stability, low gas impermeability (H2 and O2), good mechanical strength and low cost. This project will develop recently researched membranes for fuel cells that improve chemical and mechanical stability, are easilly fabricated and can be thinner and thus have lower electrical resistance. The cells made from such materials will be able to use low costs catalysts and achieve superior performance to current equivalent fuel cells. In parallel the research will develop a new electrolyser concept for the production of hydrogen fuel using the same membrane concept and low costs catalysts. The electrolyser can be used to produce hydrogen from renewable electrical energy and thus be compatible with fluctuation energy supplies from renewable sources.