Membrane Advance for Automotive Fuel Cells

PolyFuel of Mountain View, California, has a membrane technology that could help commercialize hydrogen fuel cell-powered automobiles. The company’s technology uses new hydrocarbon-based polymers that show improved operating characteristics over perfluorinated membranes at substantially reduced cost.

Unlike most perfluorinated membranes, PolyFuel’s hydrocarbon membrane technology operates stably at 35% relative humidity. This means that the fuel cell or automotive manufacturers do not have to add complicated, expensive systems to keep the membrane hydrated. When compared with typical perfluorinated membranes, this membrane is more than twice as strong, 16 times as stiff, and has four times less hydrogen permeability – all of which are important for durability and manufacturability. These hydrocarbon membranes retain stability at an operating temperature of 95°C which reduces engine cooling system complexities and limitations. The membranes produce 10% to 15% more power at real-world operating conditions compared to perfluorinated membranes.

Finally, the manufacturing cost is already significantly less than perfluorinated membranes, and will go even lower with volume. Currently, it takes about $5000 of perfluorinated membrane to make a single fuel cell for a 100kW (134hp) vehicle. Because the membrane has cost advantages over perfluorinated membranes, critical automotive cost targets can be realized much sooner than previously expected.