With the rapid growth and development of proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology, there has been increasing demand for clean and sustainable global energy applications. Of the many device-level and infrastructure challenges that need to be overcome before wide commercialization can be realized, one of the most critical ones is increasing the PEMFC power density, and ambitious goals have been proposed globally. For example, the short- and long-term power density goals of Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization are 6 kilowatts per litre by 2030 and 9 kilowatts per litre by 2040, respectively. To this end, here we propose technical development directions for next-generation high-power-density PEMFCs. We present the latest ideas for improvements in the membrane electrode assembly and its components with regard to water and thermal management and materials. These concepts are expected to be implemented in next-generation PEMFCs to achieve high power density.

随着质子交换膜燃料电池 (PEMFC) 技术的快速增长和发展，全球对清洁和可持续能源应用的需求不断增加。在实现广泛商业化之前需要克服的许多设备级和基础设施挑战中，最关键的挑战之一是提高 PEMFC 功率密度，并且已经在全球范围内提出了雄心勃勃的目标。例如，日本新能源产业技术综合开发机构的短期和长期功率密度目标分别是到 2030 年达到每升 6 千瓦和到 2040 年达到每升 9 千瓦。为此，我们在此提出下一代高功率密度 PEMFC 的技术发展方向。我们提出了改进膜电极组件及其组件在水和热管理以及材料方面的最新想法。这些概念有望在下一代 PEMFC 中实现，以实现高功率密度。