Development of a Portable Air-Breathing Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Stack

Small fuel cell are considered likely replacements for batteries in portable power applications. In this paper, the design and performance of a 5 cm x 10 cm x 8 cm passive air breathing hydrogen fuel cell stack (PEMFC) operating at room temperature is reported. The stack is composed by 10 cells with an active surface of 25 cm2 and produced a rated power of 12 W at 6 Volt and 2-3 A. The stack runs successfully with end-off fed hydrogen with non appreciable performance degradation during the time test. Measured performance of the stack with time and polarization test have been similar to the expected. Results obtained show that passive fuel cell stack can compete with batteries in portable applications and are encouraging enough for using this stack in a portable stand alone device.