The Channel-less Self-draining Polymer Membrane Fuel Cell

Fuel cells are of strong current interest, as they provide the potential for extracting much more energy from liquid fuels than the combustion processes used in diesel or automotive engines, and without combustion byproducts. Still, there is considerable room for improvement on current designs if this goal is to be achieved. Princeton researchers have developed a novel self-draining channel-less Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell, using the principles of chemical reactor analysis. This fuel cell design dramatically improves water management for PEM fuel cells, eliminating the need for humidification systems and raising the fuel utilization above 99%. In a side-by-side comparison with a standard serpentine flow design the self-draining channel-less PEM fuel cell provided high power output for extended periods with significantly simplified operation.