Fuel Cell Thermal Management Concepts for Electrified Aircraft Propulsion

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc (ACT) proposes to develop a thermosyphon (i.e., passive two-phase heat transfer device) to extract and transfer the waste heat generated by the membranes in the hydrogen fuel cell stack and maintain the in-plane thermal gradients to ≤10 Δ ºC. The proposed thermosyphon has the following advantages: high thermal conductance, light weight, high reliability, easy to fabricate and can be easily integrated with the hydrogen fuel cell stack. In Phase I, ACT will perform a detailed trade study to design a thermosyphon that can extract the waste heat from the membranes. A variable conductance feature will be added to the thermosyphon in order to passively keep the membrane temperature near the optimal range (80°C) regardless of the heat rate amount and heat sink conditions. The proof-of-concept prototype will be fabricated and its thermal performance under different testing conditions and dielectric working fluids will be demonstrated in Phase I. During Phase II, the proposed thermal management system will be integrated with a small-scale fuel cell stack to test the stack thermally and electrically. By the end of the Phase I and II programs, the technology readiness level will mature to a TRL of 4 and 5, respectively.

The proposed thermosyphon can effectively and reliably handle the waste heat loads from the hydrogen fuel cell stack. The proposed technology is lighter, highly reliable, and cost-effective. This technology will benefit multiple NASA projects and missions such as the Center for High-Efficiency Electrical Technologies for Aircraft (CHEETA) which is working on developing new technology to incorporate fuel cells into aviation and NASA’s all-electric X-57 Maxwell. In addition, hydrogen fuel cell stacks for lunar and surface systems will greatly benefit from this proposed concept. For the non-NASA electrified propulsion applications, a company such as Universal Hydrogen Co. is working on providing the technology to make current aircraft models fly on hydrogen by using hydrogen fuel cells. The proposed concept can be implemented in any hydrogen fuel cell stack for any application such as power generation (e.g., as a replacement to diesel engines) and heavy-duty trucks. Major consortiums and funding have been dedicated to these non-NASA applications such as Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck (M2FCT).

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 2) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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