Recent Progress in Commercial PEM Fuel Cell Stacks

Nedstack produces commercial PEM fuel cell stacks in the range of 2 to 10 kW for stationary applications, including backup power systems for the Telecom industry and energy recovery from byproduct hydrogen in the chlorine industry. Many of our stacks have already been installed in backup and continuous power systems for Telecom worldwide, and have been functioning for a number of years. At the same time, in our 70 kW PEM Power Plant in Delfzijl (Netherlands), which has run for over 40,000 hours, we have shown lifetimes of over 23,000 hours for our XXL stacks under real operational conditions.

An analysis of performance data from operation of Nedstack’s XXL stacks in the Delfzijl PEM power plant, as well as a detailed beginning-of-life and end-of-life characterization, including cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance, will be discussed. Stacks show a steady averaged linear decay rate of only 2.3 mV/1000 hr during operation, resulting in a predicted lifetime of 30,000 hours (for a 10% allowable voltage decay). Based on the results, AST’s were developed for material degradation, which have led to better material selection, as well as an improvement in stack design. These have now led to further improved decay rates, below 2 mV/1000 hr, which corresponds to an expected lifetime of 39,000 hours, based on the assumption of linear decay.Nedstack produces commercial PEM fuel cell stacks in the range of 2 to 10 kW for stationary applications, including backup power systems for the Telecom industry and energy recovery from byproduct hydrogen in the chlorine industry. Many of our stacks have already been installed in backup and continuous power systems for Telecom worldwide, and have been functioning for a number of years. At the same time, in our 70 kW PEM Power Plant facility in Delfzijl (Netherlands), which has run for over 40,000 hours, we have shown lifetimes of over 23,000 hours for our XXL stacks under real operational conditions.

An analysis of performance data from operation of Nedstack’s XXL stacks in the Delfzijl PEM power plant, as well as a detailed beginning-of-life and end-of-life characterization, including cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance, will be discussed. Stacks show a steady averaged linear decay rate of only 2.3 mV/1000 hr during operation, resulting in a predicted lifetime of 30,000 hours (for a 10% allowable voltage decay). Based on the results, AST’s were developed for material degradation, which have led to better material selection, as well as an improvement in stack design. These have now led to further improved decay rates, below 2 mV/1000 hr, which corresponds to an expected lifetime of 39,000 hours, based on the assumption of linear decay.