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Designing the next generation of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells

Nature volume 595, pages 361–369 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

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.

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Fig. 1: Expected application domains of BEVs and FCVs in future automotive transportation, and comparison of their technical characteristics6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13.
Fig. 2: Overview of progressive improvements in PEMFCs to meet future high-power-density requirements and a schematic explanation of the working principle.
Fig. 3: State-of-the-art and next-generation MEA designs.
Fig. 4: Trends in the development of BPs for FCVs.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the China-UK International Cooperation and Exchange Project (Newton Advanced Fellowship), supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 51861130359), the UK Royal Society (grant number NAF\R1\180146), UK EPSRC (grant number EP/S000933/1), and the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (China) for Distinguished Young Scholars (grant number 18JCJQJC46700).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Kui Jiao, Jin Xuan, Qing Du

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

    Kui Jiao, Qing Du, Zhiming Bao, Biao Xie, Bowen Wang, Linhao Fan, Yan Yin & Michael D. Guiver

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

    Jin Xuan

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Yan Zhao & Huizhi Wang

  4. Shanghai Hydrogen Propulsion Technology Co. Ltd, Shanghai, China

    Zhongjun Hou & Sen Huo

  5. Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Nigel P. Brandon

  6. Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, China

    Michael D. Guiver

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Contributions

K.J., J.X., Q.D., Z.H. and M.D.G. conceived the idea for the study. All authors contributed to the writing and commented on the manuscript. K.J., Z.B., B.X., B.W., Y.Z., L.F. and M.D.G. contributed to the preparation of the figures.

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Correspondence to Kui Jiao, Zhongjun Hou or Michael D. Guiver.

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Jiao, K., Xuan, J., Du, Q. et al. Designing the next generation of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. Nature 595, 361–369 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03482-7

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