Eco Factor: New bio-inspired design procedure can improve the energy efficiency and save the catalyst material for PEM fuel cells.
Fuel cells can be seen largely being used in the transportation sector, but the shorter lifetime of the cell along with poor catalyst and energy efficiencies stand as drawbacks in its way. So, researchers at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters have suggested a new bio-inspired design procedure that is capable of improving the energy efficiency and save the catalyst material of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell.
Based on the theorem of equipartition of entropy production, the method can help in maximizing energy efficiency by 10-20% at high current densities, while the amount of catalyst can be reduced by a factor of 4-8. Having a fractal structure similar to the human lung, the gas supply and water outlet systems are designed to produce entropy uniformly. The tree-like gas distributor engraved in the bipolar plates may eliminate the need for porous transport layers. The newly presented methodology can be applied to any type of catalyst in a nanoporous catalytic layer to save catalyst significantly.
Via: Green Car Congress
