Hawaii Fuel Cell Test Facility: Equipment, Partnerships & Training

1. Nancy: Here are some more slides with possible useful graphics

2. Hawaii Fuel Cell Test Facility • University of Hawaii • Own and operate equipment • Support manpower • Develop projects & partnerships • UTC Fuel Cells • Provide specifications for infrastructure and test stands • Management support & training • HECO • Site support and infrastructure development • ONR • Funding • Applications General view of Test Facility

3. FY03 Fuel Cell Activities • Cell development • Novel bipolar plates • Large area nanoscale fabrication • Testing • Cell performance and durability • Thermal and water management • Fueling issues • “Hardware-in-the-Loop” for Rapid Prototyping • Implement major components of system imposing computer based control functions for dynamic operation Front view of Test Stand These activities support development of proposed fuel cell system

4. The Military Requirement • Long endurance power supplies for: • Long-dwell sensor systems. • Soldier power systems • Primary batteries • Expensive • Heavy • Low endurance • Use heavy metals such as lithium & cadmium which are poisonous to the environment • A major logistics problem (nightmare??) • A “Battery Unit” dedicated to bringing batteries to the front lines • Soldiers used 12 batteries per night in Gulf II for powering their electronics

5. Fuel Cells are the Solution! • Electrochemical device • Converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity and heat • When hydrogen is the fuel, pure water is the only emission • Long endurance • Low heat & noise signatures • Many applications: • Transportation • Stationary based distributed energy • Unmanned underwater vehicles • Unmanned aerial vehicles • Remote instrumentation • Soldier power systems A military “Mission-Enabling” technology

6. Fuel Cell System = Stack +BOS FuelSupply Water Management Control Systems Thermal Management Air Supply fuel cell Electric System Application

7. PEM Fuel Cell Stacks • Preferred solution for many military applications. • High specific energy • Environmentally benign • Very Expensive • Designed for maximum power density and long life • High cost materials • High production cost • High cost stacks warranted in some “mission-enabling” applications • BUT many applications could use a lower performance fuel cell of modest cost. • 100’s of hrs vs 1,000’s hrs The DoD needs an inexpensive fuel cell

8. Major Fuel Cell Components • Collector plates • Distribute reactant gases • Separate individual cells • Conduct the current produced by the fuel cell reaction • Membrane Electrode Assembly (“MEA”) • Conduct protons • Gas impermeable • Coated with catalyst

9. apparatus: heated substrate basic process: thin film condensate plasma gas feed vacuum chamber target negative electrode + Low Cost Catalyst Development magnetron gun • Important process parameters: • Ambient Pressure, • Gas Feed Composition (e.g., Ar, Ar/O2) • Substrate Temperature • Plasma Power • HNEI Sputtering System: • 3 guns for co-sputtering mixed materials • Gas Feed Options (Ar, Ar/O2, etc.) • Flow, pressure, temperature & power control

10. Mixed Metal Catalyst Research