Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




ENERGY TECH
Tests lead to doubling of fuel cell life
by Staff Writers
Burnaby, Canada (SPX) May 27, 2013


A team of SFU student researchers is at work at Ballard Power Systems in Burnaby carrying out tests to improve fuel cell durability. The study aims to make fuel-cell buses competitive with diesel hybrids.

Researchers working to improve durability in fuel cell powered buses, including a team from Simon Fraser University, have discovered links between electrode degradation processes and bus membrane durability.

The team is quantifying the effects of electrode degradation stressors in the operating cycle of the bus on the membrane lifetime.

The findings of the study, led by SFU graduate student Natalia MaCauley, are the latest in a long-term study at Burnaby-based Ballard Power Systems and funded by Automotive Partnership Canada that aims to make fuel cell buses competitive with diesel hybrids.

To improve fuel cell module durability and predict longevity, researchers are studying the degradation mechanisms of the fuel cells that occur under real-world transit bus conditions.

Says SFU project lead Erik Kjeang: "Our strong multidisciplinary collaboration between chemistry and mechatronic systems engineering (MSE) is bearing fruit. The fuel cell is a mechatronic device, and the bandwidth of this project allows advances in chemistry to be engineered and implemented into Ballard's products."

Adds Ballard lead Shanna Knights: "We are pleased with the progress that our multidisciplinary team from SFU and UVic is making to develop improved membrane lifetimes for our next-generation fuel cell bus module and to understand the details of these complex failure mechanisms."

"With continued work, this research will permit significant product costs savings and improved fuel cell lifetimes so we can directly compete against incumbent diesel technology."

The research team, comprising 40 highly qualified personnel (HQPs) - graduate students, undergraduate co-op students and post-doctoral fellows - is also developing simulation tools that can eventually be used by industry partners in their testing protocols and operations of fuel cell buses.

SFU post-doctoral fellow Amir Niroumand, who heads the research on system level reliability and lifetime for fuel cell buses, says their objective is to operate fuel cells safely with extended lifetimes by studying how and why these fuel cells work.

"Our algorithms can be used for repair and maintenance, following through something like the check engine light in the car," explains Niroumand. "When onboard diagnostics indicate maintenance is required, the check engine light goes on and tells you to take the car to the shop; however, the car would not stop and would continue to operate. This requires the capability to detect potential issues and determine operating capabilities."

Ballard has been developing successive generations of products with improved durability for more than 15 years. Testing to improve the understanding of membrane failure mechanisms and validate developed predictive models is underway in labs at Ballard, SFU and UVic.

Project manager Kourosh Malek says the work to date has met all of its 18-month milestones, including a substantive effort devoted to training students. "This has formed an industry-driven platform for our hired HQPs," he says.

Kjeang adds: "This is not only research that will lower costs, extend product life and address sustainability issues. These HQPs, vital to the project, are creating tomorrow's workforce."

.


Related Links
Simon Fraser University
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








ENERGY TECH
More emphasis needed on recycling and reuse of Li-ion batteries
Washington DC (SPX) May 24, 2013
The discovery of potential environmental and human health effects from disposal of millions of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries each year has led scientists to recommend stronger government policies to encourage recovery, recycling and reuse of lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery materials. That's the conclusion of a new paper in the ACS journal Environmental Science and Technology. Oladele A. ... read more


ENERGY TECH
Moon being pushed away from Earth faster than ever

Bright Explosion on the Moon

NASA says meteor impact on the moon glowed like a star

Where on Earth did the moon's water come from

ENERGY TECH
Opportunity Departing 'Cape York'

Bacterium from Canadian High Arctic and life on Mars

Curiosity Drills Second Rock Target

Mars Rover Opportunity Examines Clay Clues in Rock

ENERGY TECH
3D Printing: Food in Space

Chinese group bids for Club Med holidays: firms

Trip into space with DiCaprio costs $1.55m

Desert Tests Pave Way for Human Exploration of Small Bodies

ENERGY TECH
Waiting for Shenzhou 10

China launches communications satellite

On Course for Shenzhou 10

Yuanwang III, VI depart for space-tracking missions

ENERGY TECH
Science and Maintenance for Station Crew, New Crew Members Prep for Launch

ESA Euronews: Living in space

Next destination: space

Russia to Send 'Stress-Relief' Software to ISS

ENERGY TECH
First Light Angara Rocket Ready for Launch

Russia to launch 12 Proton-M rockets in 2013

Russian Spacecraft Manufacturer to Make Four Launches in 2014

Electric Propulsion

ENERGY TECH
Big Weather on Hot Jupiters

Critical Kepler Reaction Wheel Fails: Mission End In Sight

Sifting Through the Atmosphere's of Far-Off Worlds

New Method of Finding Planets Scores its First Discovery

ENERGY TECH
UBC engineer helps pioneer flat spray-on optical lens

Magnetic fingerprints of superfluid helium-3

Ecuador's only satellite may have been damaged in space collision

New analysis yields improvements in 3D imaging




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement