FCCP-APU Fuel Cell operating on Conventional Fuels as Auxiliary Power Unit for Electrical Vehicles - I - (A)

The FCCF-APU project addresses the key dimension of technology based innovation and proposes to develop an APU for electrical vehicles which can be operated with conventional fuels like petrol or diesel. The approach of the project is to use an HT-PEMFC stack to facilitate gas processing and keep start-up times low. A steam reformer is to be used as gas processor to achieve high conversion efficiencies. The targets of the project are an innovative system design that allows for operating the system water autonomous avoiding any problems with freezing water feed stocks. This is to be achieved by improved water recovery from the cathode exhaust. The MEA shall be improved in order to obtain same performance and durability properties for reformate as for hydrogen operation. A new lightweight stack shall be constructed employing metal bipolar plates. The latter shall be protected against corrosion by applying a protective carbon layer onto the steel raw materials before hydroforming. The stack shall be integrated with a petrol or diesel reformer, which is likewise developed in the project into a demonstration unit. The project consortium comprises 8 partners from 4 European countries, with 6 of the partners being companies. The partners present a major part of the later value chain, starting with material suppliers for membranes and coated steels, to components supplier for bipolar plates and MEAs and two system suppliers for HT-PEMFC systems and gas processors. This industrial consortium is supported by two research partners.