Development of a Closed Loop Regenerative HT PEM Fuel Cell System
• Optimisation of materials from previous activities (GFT 2065, performance & lifetime)
• Design both an electrolyser and a fuel cell stack each having 1kW electrical power
• Manufacture and test a regenerative fuel cell system (RFCS)
During this activity, a Regenerative Fuel Cell System (RFCS) was designed and constructed, comprising a high temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cell stack and a High-Pressure PEM (HP-PEM) water electrolyser stack. The RFCS was tested against a three Lunar day-night cycles profile.
The activity is a continuation of the previous GTF 2065 activity, where initially electrode material were characterised and selected. The work was based on the 'lessons learnt' from GTF 2065, where the stack design and the operational parameters were optimised. The best performing material in the breadboard stack was designed, manufactured and tested for endurance. An elegant FC and ELY breadboard stack was then bult for integration in other ESA demonstration programmes.
