Development of a low cost micro fuel cell complete with power conversion

Abstract

The objective of the report was to design and fabricate a low cost micro fuel cell stack (μPEMFC). The author reviewed the components and technical considerations to take note in the design of the PEMFC which will affect the performance. Five main areas to tackle were the material selection, mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, sealing of the fuel cell and geometrical considerations.

A low cost μPEMFC was developed with the bipolar plate combination of stainless steel porous metal foam and stainless steel plate. The porosity of the stainless steel porous metal foam reduces additional machining process and simplifies the design by eliminating the need to incise flow channels. A prototype was fabricated using the Computer Numerical Cutting (CNC) machine and the fuel cell was operated in the dead-end mode. The size of the fuel cell was approximated to be that of a D-size battery for portability purposes.