Performance analysis of a newly designed PEM fuel cell

Due to the ever increasing demand on energy and environmentally friendly sources of energy, it has become important to introduce a source of energy that is efficient and eco-friendly. In this paper, a parametric study of the PEM fuel cell is conducted in order to investigate the effect of different operating parameters on the efficiency and energy output of the cell, and later design parameters are being selected in order to build a physical model. It is noticed that the cell efficiency increases from 34.4% to 39.5% if the temperature of the cell is increased. Moreover, the energy output of the cell increase from 0.02 kW to 0.27 kW when the cell temperature and the current density are increased. Moreover, decrease in the efficiency of the cell ranges from 45% to 28.3% with increase in the current density and membrane thickness. This study reveals that a PEM fuel cell is an attractive economical and environmental solution when compared with conventional systems of power generation such as gas turbines.