An intermediate temperature direct ammonia fuel cell using a proton conducting electrolyte

The operation of fuel cells based on proton conducting BaCeO3 solid electrolyte doubly doped with gadolinium and praseodymium is reported. Fuel cells were operated for up to 96 h with both hydrogen and ammonia individually as fuel. Results show that the performance of the cell is the same irrespective of the fuel used. The only chemical by-products of the ammonia fuel cell are nitrogen and water. The data shows that a fuel cell incorporating a doubly doped proton conducting electrolyte operated on ammonia fuel is a viable alternative to fuel cells utilizing hydrocarbon fuels as sources of hydrogen.