Fuel Cell MRL Study (FCMRL-STUDY)

Space applications require that primary and regenerative fuel cells operate on pure oxygen rather than the air used by terrestrial fuel cells. While NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) has successfully advanced the H2/O2 fuel cell technology from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 2 to TRL 5, the inability of space fuel cell stack vendors to deliver reliable space fuel cell stacks that meet NASA's minimum performance requirements indicates that the technology Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) remains insufficient for cis-lunar missions. The purpose of this task is to conduct a detailed manufacturing review at all levels of H2/O2 space fuel cell stack assembly to identify manufacturing and quality gaps inhibiting implementation and commercialization of this technology.The Scope of Work includes a thorough manufacturing review at the domestic space fuel cell suppliers who have demonstrated at least TRL4 using the proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyte technology used for missions with H2/O2-based propellants and the high temperature solid oxide (SO) electrolyte technology used for missions with CxHy/O2-based propellants. The manufacturers able to participate in this study include Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc. (IFCH) and Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc. (TESI) for the PEM technology, and Precision Combustion, Inc (PCI) and OxEon Energy (OxEon) for the SO technology. NASA's fuel cell technology leads at Glenn Research Center (GRC) and Johnson Space Center (JSC) will conduct these reviews. The fuel cell technology leads will conduct on-site visits at each of the manufacturers' locations. After each vendor site visit, an informal internal review will occur consisting of the NASA fuel cell subject matter expert (SME) teams from GRC and JSC to discuss findings and recommendations as well as serve as a mechanism to both disseminate expertise and train early career staff. The deliverable final report will progress through internal reviews at both GRC and JSC prior to submission to STMD.

​Fuel cells have numerous characteristics contributing to being excellent candidates for space power systems. Their advantages include: high energy efficiency, lightweight design, long-duration operation, reduced emissions, modular and scalable design, quick startup & shutdown capability, and low noise and vibration. Fuel cells can provide energy storage to provide power in locations near humans where nuclear power may not be an option. Developing this technology directly supports NASA's Moon to Mars mission architecture of “LI-1 Developing an incremental Lunar power generation & distribution system that is evolvable to support continuous robotic/human operation and is capable of scaling to global power utilization and industrial power levels". Increasing the MRL of industry fuel cell technology has the potential to greatly increase their viability in future NASA and other space mission architecture. The report produced from this study will inform NASA's decision process for meeting Artemis power and energy requirements. The technical reviews performed during this study will offer recommendations, as well as serve as a mechanism to both disseminate expertise and train early career staff.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.