EU Harmonised Test Protocols for Automotive Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) operated on air as oxidant and hydrogen as fuel is attractive for vehicle propulsion due to its high power density, low operating temperature and high efficiency. In this application, PEMFC can experience operating conditions which are severe to the materials involved. To be useful and relevant, PEMFC performance testing should simulate as closely as possible the stressors encountered in real-world driving. Up till now, the lack of readily deployable European methods for testing PEMFC has hampered objective comparative performance assessment under realistic operating conditions. Hence until recently, objective assessment of the impact of technology progress on PEMFC performance by European measures was virtually impossible. Exploiting experience from its involvement in many EU research projects, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the in-house science and policy support service of the European Commission, has filled this gap to the benefit of industrial and research stakeholders, including automotive equipment manufacturers, supply chain actors, system integrators, research organisations and funding agencies such as the European Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH-JU), an industry led public-private partnership for Research and Innovation (R&I). Sustained cooperation with industry and research organisations participating in R&I projects for automotive applications funded by the FCH-JU and coordinated by JRC has resulted in European industry and research stakeholders agreeing on a test methodology, including a set of representative operating conditions and load cycles, such as the Fuel Cell Dynamic Load Cycle (FC-DLC). These are described in the JRC Science for Policy Report "EU harmonised test protocols for PEMFC MEA testing in single cell configuration for automotive applications" (ISBN 978-92-79-54133-9), endorsed by the FCH-JU.

TSOTRIDIS Georgios; 

2016-12-14

Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd

JRC103296

https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/magazines/issue-442-24-october-2016,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC103296,