Fundamental Research and Development Challenges in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Technology

The purpose of this paper is to define needs for improved membrane and catalyst materials that would accelerate commercialization of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (PEFCs) in automobiles. Starting with system and cost considerations, we define targets for membrane operating temperature, conductivity vs. relative humidity, gas permeability, and water uptake. To consider the catalysts needs, we examine the polarization losses in state-ofthe-art membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) and demonstrate that approximately 2-3 fold improvement in electrocatalyst activity is needed to enable achievement of automotive Pt targets of <0.2 gpt/kW.