The U.S. DOE efforts to address durability issues for fuel cells in motive applications

摘要

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Program (FCT) supports research and development that has substantially improved the state-of-the-art in fuel cell technology. In particular, DOE sponsored research has made great strides in improving fuel cell durability. A large portion of FCT's program focuses on using polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) as replacements for internal combustion engines (ICEs) in light duty vehicles to increase vehicle efficiency and support the goals of reducing oil use in and emissions from the transportation sector. For success in the marketplace, fuel cell vehicles must offer value, performance, and benefits to the consumer that are comparable to those available in modern vehicles. DOE, with input from industry, has set targets for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies to achieve performance and cost comparable to competing alternatives. For example, the durability target for automotive fuel cells is 5,000-hours durability, which is equivalent to 150,000 miles of driving. The research and development effort focuses on developing materials, components, and sub-systems but not integrated full-scale systems.