GTI Fuel Cell Test Reaches Important Milestone

DES PLAINES, Ill., Aug. 14, 2003 -- GTI recently reached a major project milestone in its proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell development program. Researchers report that a novel uncoated metal bipolar separator plate surpassed one year of endurance testing (over 8,760 hours). The metallic plates showed a significant improvement in corrosion resistance, with excellent formability for high-volume stamping operations. These findings increase the potential for the future development and commercialization of lower-cost fuel cell components for vehicular, portable, and stationary applications.

"This is an exciting development," says Bill Liss, GTI's Director, Advanced Energy Systems. "The automotive industry needs increased power density, high-volume manufacturability, and significantly lower cost in bipolar plates before mass produced fuel cell vehicles are viable. This first full year of testing validates the potential of our technology to meet those goals."

Endurance testing measurements of surface contact resistance indicate virtually no degradation on the cathode or anode side of the low-cost metal plates. Current resistance measurements (referred to as IR losses) attributed to the bipolar plates remained constant over time during cell testing. These IR losses were approximately 10 percent lower than the losses seen in the high-performance graphite plates that have typically been used in fuel cell development. "This is important because reduced current resistance losses translate into improved power density and higher efficiency," adds Len Marianowski, GTI's Executive Scientist.

Using a procedure developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for determining the corrosion rate of bipolar plates, GTI measurements indicate the corrosion rate for this material is less than 10 percent of the allowable rate recently specified by DOE. Independent analysis of the PEM membrane material used in cell testing indicates essentially no products of contamination from the metal plates.

As part of the next step, GTI is now evaluating the formability of the metal alloy into different bipolar plate configurations. The thin metal sheets will be formed into large-area bipolar plates that will be used in multi- kilowatt full-sized stack testing experiments. GTI is also working with potential parties interested in using or licensing this technology.

GTI is the leading research, development and training organization serving energy markets. GTI is dedicated to meeting the nation's energy and environmental challenges by developing technology-based solutions for consumers, industry, and government.