FUEL CELLS: STATUS AND PERSPECTIVES
Café des Sciences, CERN/Genève, Cl. ROULET (Schlumberger)
Organisé par l'association Euroscience-Léman
16 novembre 2000

HISTORY
  • NASA Gemini program: GE (PEM technology: Proton Exchange Membrane), then abandoned
  • NASA Apollo program: United Technologies Corporation, subsidiary IFC (AFC technology: Alkaline Fuel Cell)
  • Greatly improved version to provide electrical power to the shuttle

    •     - Needs extremely pure H2 and O2
        - Prohibitive costs for civil commercial applications
  • To-day main type of fuel cell being developed to power automobiles
  • Can operate with air and lower grade hydrogen, such as reformed methanol
  • Expensive catalyst (Pt), problem being solved now by thin layer of microscopic Pt on electrodes
  • PAFC (Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell) technology was aggressively developed (US and Japanese companies)
  • First type to be commercialized
  • 185 units have been commercialized to date for stationary power generation (UTC- ONSI) 200-250kW
  • May operate on impure hydrogen and air
  • Power output lower than PEM technology
  • Does not respond well to changing power demand
  • US government still put tens of M$ into PAFC

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    TYPES OF FUEL CELLS

  • Electrolyte: KOH, operation 120 10 250o C
  • CO, CO2: poisons, wide range of electrocatalysts
  • Efficiency Up 1070%
  • Long used by NASA
  • Prohibitive cost for commercial applications
  • Electrolyte: concentrated phosphoric acid, 150 to 220o C
  • CO poison of Pt electrocatalyst in anode
  • Easy water management
  • Efficiency 40%, 85% with cogeneration
  • The most commercially developed type of fuel cell:

    •         - Diverse applicatons: hospitals, hotels, office buildings, schools, utility power plants, airport terminals
            - Can also be used in large vehicles (buses & locomotives)
  • Electrolyte: ion exchange polymer membrane, excellent proton conductor, about 80oC
  • CO poison at low temperature
  • High catalyst load (Pt) at both electrodes
  • Only liquid is water, minimum corrosion problems
  • Critical water management in membrane for maximum efficiency
  • Efficiency: about 40%
  • High power density, flexibility to power demand, quick start

    •         - Primary candidates for light-duty vehicles, buildings, and much smaller applications such as video cameras
  • Similar to PEFC but anode catalyst draws H from liquid methanol, eliminating need for reformer
  • Efficiency Up to 40% expected
  • Early stage of development
  • Electrolyte: combination of Na & K carbonates retained in ceramic matrices (LiAlO2)
  • Operation 600 to 700o C
  • Ni anode, Ni oxide cathode, inexpensive catalysts
  • High efficiency
  • Excess heat can be captured and utilzed in cogeneration
  • Large variety of fuels: natural gas, propane, diesel

    •         - Suitable for ships, remote places, stationary decentralized power plants
  • Electrolyte: solid, non-porous metal oxide, usually Y2O3 - stabilized ZrO2
  • Operation 650 to 1000o C
  • Anode: Co-ZrO2 or Ni-ZrO2, cathode Sr-doped LaMnO3
  • Cheap catalyst

    •         - Efficiency Up to 60%, higher with cogeneration
  • Very young member of the fuel cell family
  • Closed loop form of power management:

    •         - Hydrogen and oxygen are separated from water using a solar-powered electrolyser
            - H2 and O2 are fed in fuel cell to produce electricity , water and heat
            - Water is recirculated back to the solar-powered electrolyser
  • Research conducted by NASA and other front end research centers

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    MOBILITY APPLICATIONS

    TRANSIT BUSES:

    AUTOMOBILES:

    LOCOMOTIVES

    BICYCLES

    MAIN COMPANIES

  • CLEAR LEADER:

    •         - BALLARD & its allies: DAIMLER-CHRYSLER-FORD
                    JVs: DBB Fuel cell engines, ECOSTAR Electric Drive Systems
     
  • CALIFORNIA CONNECTION:

    •         - Regulation of the California Air resource Board (CARB):
                    2003: 4 % of new cars to be ZEV (ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE): 22000 ZEV/YR
            - California Fuel cell project: launched April 1999:
                    State of California, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, Ballard, Arco, Texaco, Shell
            - New Comers: GM, Toyota, IFC-Methanex
            - 20 FC cars and buses to be fielded 2000 >> 2003 - COMMUNITIES:

            - LEADER: IFC
                    PAFC 200-250 kW
                    200 UNITS OPERATING
                    4K$/kW to day to be compared to Gas turbines: 500$ to 1000$/kW
            - FECL:
                    MCFC 250kW
                    Collaboration with Daimler-Chrysler: MTU
            - BALLARD:
                    PEFC 250 kW to be fielded
            - SIEMENS:
                    SOFC 200kW

    - DOMESTIC:

        - LEADER: PLUG POWER 5kW PEFC with COGENERATION
        - BALLARD
        - H-POWER

    FUEL ISSUES

                - NEW AND HEAVY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR TRANSPORT
                - COMPRESSED H2 TOO BULKY FOR CARS, MAY BE ACCEPTABLE FOR LARGE TRANSIT BUSES
                - LIQUID H2: COMPACT STORAGE BUT COST 30% OF ENERGY
                - HYDRIDE STORAGE: VERY PROMISING: from 7 % in weight (ECD) to 11% (LANL)             - PRIME CANDIDATE:METHANOL
                        ABUNDANT
                        CAN BE OBTAINED FROM NATURAL GAS, BIOGAS
                - GASOLINE:
                        PRESENT DEVELOPMENT BY NUVERA, PLUG POWER, IFC-TOYOTA, DAIMLER-CHRYSLER-SHELL…)             - SOURCES:
                        - VIA REFORMING:
                                FOSSIL FUELS OIL & GAS
                                METHANE (CMM,CBM)
                                STRANDED GAS
                                HYDRATES
                                BIOMASS, ORGANIC WASTE

                        - CO2 SEQUESTRATION POSSIBLE IF CENTRAL REFORMING

                - VIA HIGH PRESSURE ELECTROLYSIS OF WATER
                        - ELECTRICITY FROM CENTRAL POWER PLANTS
                        - ELECTRICITY FROM DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE ENERGY STATIONS:
                                SOLAR
                                WINDTURBINES
                                GEOTHERMAL (EX: ICELANI) TOTAL H2 PROJECT)