Advanced Composite Bipolar Plate for Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cell/Electrolyzer Systems, Phase I

Development of an advanced composite bipolar plate is proposed for a unitized regenerative fuel cell and electrolyzer system that operates on pure feed streams (H2/O2 and water, respectively). The composite bipolar plate can greatly simplify "closed-loop" unitized fuel cell/electrolyzer power systems, as it eliminates the need for saturators, a second stack and water/gas phase separation. It provides a substantial system improvement over presently used alkaline systems in that it allows for simple high pressure operation with a high differential pressure. Additionally, it allows for dead-ended H2 and O2 feed for the fuel cell, eliminating parasitic pumping losses required for water removal. Phase I will demonstrate composite bipolar plate-based fuel cell and electrolyzers, and quantify the composite bipolar plate transport and mechanical properties required for system design. In Phase II a full unitized composite bipolar plate stack would be designed and built to size according to NASA requirements.

Potential NASA Commercial Applications: Potential products foreseen are: the composite bipolar plate PEM electrolyzer; the composite bipolar plate PEM fuel cell; and closed loop, discrete, and unitized PEM regenerative fuel cell (RFC) systems. Electrolyzer applications include H2 generation for gas chromatography, industrial uses and hydrogen refueling stations. PEMFC applications include vehicles and stationary power, where the internal water management provides a large system advantage. Closed-loop regenerative fuel cell systems could use a unitized stack which provides the promise of decreasing stack weight by half for combined PEM fuel cell and electrolyzer systems. A composite bipolar plate greatly simplifies water management for a unitized stack by managing water completely in the vapor phase. Industrial applications include power back-up for computer and energy related systems.

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.

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