Fuel Cells
Creare develops innovative fuel cell components and systems, primarily for lightweight portable power applications. Our work in this area has its heritage in prior Creare development of alkali metal thermal-to-electric conversion (AMTEC) systems and compact high-performance heat exchangers. Creare’s fuel cell work focuses on stack design, system optimization, and control of thermal-fluid material balances in the cell.
In cooperation with corporate partners, Creare has demonstrated compact, lightweight direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) and polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells with potential use in portable power systems. We have built and tested thermal and fluid management tools for prototype fuel cells, and have developed innovative techniques for methanol concentration control in DMFCs. A compact hydrogen generator for portable PEM fuel cells has also been demonstrated. Work is currently underway to develop water-recovery and recycling systems for solid oxide fuel cell / reformer systems used for portable power generation. |
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