Development of new test instruments and protocols for the diagnostic of fuel cell stacks

Sébastien Wasterlain (1) , Denis Candusso (2) , Fabien Harel (3) , Daniel Hissel (4) , Xavier Francois (5)

1 FC LAB - Laboratoire commun de recherche
2 INRETS/LTN - Laboratoire des Technologies Nouvelles
3 INRETS/LTE - Laboratoire Transport et Environnement
4 FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174)
5 UTBM - Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard

In the area of fuel cell research, most of the experimental techniques and equipments are still devoted to the analysis of single cells or very short stacks. However, the diagnosis of fuel cell stacks providing significant power levels is a critical aspect to be considered for the integration of fuel cell systems into real applications such as vehicles or stationary gensets. In this article, a new instrument developed in-lab is proposed in order to satisfy the requirements of electrochemical impedance studies to be led on large FC generators made of numerous individual cells. Moreover, new voltammetry protocols dedicated to PEMFC stack analysis are described. They enable for instance the study of membrane permeability and loss of platinum activity inside complete PEMFC assemblies. Keywords: PEMFC; Stack; Characterization; Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy; Cyclic Voltammetry; Linear Sweep Voltammetry.

Mots clés: EMPILEMENT; MEMBRANE

Domaines: Energie électrique; Environnement et Société

Sébastien Wasterlain, Denis Candusso, Fabien Harel, Daniel Hissel, Xavier Francois. Development of new test instruments and protocols for the diagnostic of fuel cell stacks. Journal of Power Sources, 2011, 196 (12), pp. 5325-5333. ⟨10.1016/j.jpowsour.2010.08.029⟩. ⟨hal-01006663⟩