Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development in Columbia (SC)

This is an update to the final report filed after the extension of this program to May of 2011. The activities of the present program contributed to the goals and objectives of the Fuel Cell element of the Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies Program of the Department of Energy through five sub-projects. Three of these projects have focused on PEM cells, addressing the creation of carbon-based metal-free catalysts, the development of durable seals, and an effort to understand contaminant adsorption/reaction/transport/performance relationships at low contaminant levels in PEM cells. Two programs addressed barriers in SOFCs; an effort to create a new symmetrical and direct hydrocarbon fuel SOFC designs with greatly increased durability, efficiency, and ease of manufacturing, and an effort to create a multiphysics engineering durability model based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy interpretations that associate the micro-details of how a fuel cell is made and their history of (individual) use with specific prognosis for long term performance, resulting in attendant reductions in design, manufacturing, and maintenance costs and increases in reliability and durability.