SPE regenerative hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells for extraterrestrial surface applications

Author

McElroy, J.F.

Author_Institution

United Technol. Corp., Windsor Locks, CT, USA

fYear

1989

fDate

6-11 Aug 1989

Firstpage

1631

Abstract

The use of hydrogen/oxygen regenerative fuel cells in selected extraterrestrial surface energy storage applications is discussed. Continuous photovoltaic electric power for a lunar base, for instance, requires an energy storage system with a two-week charge and a two-week discharge cycle. The hydrogen/oxygen regenerative fuel cell system is projected to have a specific energy of 1000 Wh/kg or more. This is an order of magnitude greater than advanced batteries. As an additional benefit, the hydrogen/oxygen regenerative fuel cell integrates well with life support requirements. A slight oversizing of the electrolyzer subsystem of the regenerative fuel cell could supply all the required life support oxygen and hydrogen

Keywords

energy storage devices; fuel cells; hydrogen; oxygen; space vehicle power plants; H₂-O₂ regenerative fuel cells; charge; discharge; electrolyzer; extraterrestrial surface energy storage; life support; lunar base; photovoltaic electric power; space power; Biomembranes; Energy storage; Fuel cells; Hydrogen; Loss measurement; Oxygen; Photovoltaic systems; Protons; Solar power generation; Surface discharges;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, 1989. IECEC-89., Proceedings of the 24th Intersociety

Conference_Location

Washington, DC

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IECEC.1989.74689

Filename

74689