Validation of the Influence of Test Parameters in Performance Measurements of a PEMFC Stack

Uniform testing procedures for the characterisation of PEMFC stacks are important due to the necessity to achieve comparable and reliable results. The comparability of different stacks is relevant for stack manufacturers as well as for system integrators and for academic research. Results generated in different laboratories can be influenced by different test stands, test procedures and diverse environmental conditions.

Harmonized testing procedures for PEMFC stacks were developed within the EU project “Development of PEM Fuel Cell Stack Reference Test Procedures for Industry” (Stack-Test) regarding performance, durability and safety aspects for automotive, portable and stationary applications. The testing procedures for performance measurements were developed in order to investigate the sensitivity of stacks to the operating parameters.                                                                         

The testing procedures for performance measurements developed by the project partners were validated using a set of PEMFC stacks. For the measurements the input parameters have to be defined and controlled in a precise way. By varying the input parameters like temperature, relative humidity and stoichiometry the effect on the main output parameters like the single cell voltages and the overall stack voltage is monitored. The effect on the voltage was evaluated by the variation of the electrical load. Additionally, current voltage curves at different parameters e. g. with a set of temperatures were generated.

An overview on the achieved results will be given, to describe the optimization pathway for stack characterization under manufacture defined conditions. With these procedures it is possible to achieve reproducible and stable results to be applied by stack manufactures and system integrators for reliable fuel cell stacks.

The research leading to these results is part of the EU project Stack-Test which has received funding from the European Union´s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) for the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative under grant agreement n° [3034445]. We acknowledge the preparation of the test modules used for this validation by the project partners within the Stack-Test project. The test modules are available for further revision on the project website: stacktest.zsw-bw.de