Research on Steam Reformer System with Hydrogen Membrane for Automobiles

摘要

Competition is under way around the world to develop fuel cell vehicles fitted with a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell system. In this research, a methanol steam reforming system has been developed for application to a reformer-based fuel cell system. A Pd hydrogen permeation membrane and a heat exchanger type reformer have been applied to a 30-kW system to achieve higher efficiency. As a result, the characteristics of the Pd membrane and steam reformer were made clear, and the possibility of using this system as an automotive power plant was investigated. This research was conducted under a project sponsored by The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).