Solid polymer fuel cells for pulse power delivery

Solid polymer fuel cells have been identified as suitable sources for the delivery of short duration, high power pulses. A number of membrane/electrode assemblies, cell designs and component materials have been tested under continuous load conditions to enable an optimised fuel cell to be constructed and to allow comparisons with pulsed load conditions. Each cell was subjected to pulsed loads of one second duration to identify the best cell components and the power losses associated with this regime. Best performance was obtained with low equivalent weight, thin membranes with high catalyst utilisation and optimised flow designs.