Development of a High Efficiency Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Stack under Pressurized Operating Conditions

고효율 가압형 고분자전해질 연료전지 셀스택 개발

A high efficiency polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack was developed for pressurized pure hydrogen and oxygen supplying conditions. The design objective for the cell stack was to maximize the electric efficiency and to minimize exhaust-gas emissions from it simultaneously. To achieve this objective, the cell stack was designed to use pure hydrogen and oxygen as fuel and oxidant, respectively, and to be operated under high gas inlet pressures and in a stage-wise dead-end operation mode. Major components constituting the cell stack, such as membrane electrode assembly, bipolar-plate, and gasket, have been developed to meet a target durability even in severe operating conditions: high gas inlet pressures and usage of pure oxygen. A high-power fuel cell stack was assembled using these components to verify the performance. The cell stack showed a good performance in terms of the efficiency and maximum power output.