The Armys need for high energy-density, lightweight power sources gives incentive to the search for creative fuel cell concepts and approaches that can potentially reduce size, weight, and complexity. Success in such efforts would certainly have significant spin-off opportunities in the commercial sector, such as in medical devices, computer hardware, and recreational needs. The mixed reactant feed approach in direct-methanol fuel cells has attractive potential in light of the fact that it could reduce size and weight associated with fluid delivery devices, manifolding, and sealing. The proposed project is intended to explore the cell/stack and system design opportunities associated with mixed-feed, with the objective of laying the groundwork for substantial improvement in size and weight parameters for the system power and energy required. The overall technical goal is to meet the Armys size and weight requirements for a 20-watt, 1-kWh power source during Phase II. The objectives of the project are: a) to identify and deploy selective cathode catalysts/electrodes that demonstrate enhanced activity/performance in methanol-air mixed-feed fuel cell stacks and b) to investigate, optimize, and implement a novel stack design concept that yields substantially reduced size and weight in relation to those of conventional DMFC stacks
Benefits: The projects outcome will lay foundation for implementation of a fuel cell system with higher power density and energy density comparing to conventional DMFC systems as well as increased reliability and reduced cost. Commercial applications may include battery replacement for mobile electronic devices as laptops and PDAs as well as grid independent battery chargers and grid independent power supplies for remote residencies and outposts and remote sensing devices.
Keywords: fuel cells, catalyst, selective catalyst, fuel cell stack
