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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "D1: Advanced Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 77868

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Vincenzo Liso

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Guest Editor

Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 5, 9100 Aalborg, Denmark
Interests: energy systems modeling; fuel cells; hydrogen; methanol
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Yingru Zhao

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Guest Editor

School of Energy Research, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
Interests: energy systems engineering and energy efficiency

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

You are welcome to submit your contributions for consideration in this Special Issue on the recent development and novel solutions in fuel cell system technology.

With an increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions, fuel cell technologies are considered an environmentally-sustainable solution, which will have a positive impact on future energy systems in many different domains, from automotive to heat and power generation for residential applications. Fuel cell systems are already a viable alternative for electricity and heat generation in different applications and are commercially available in limited numbers.

An extensive effort has been made so far to develop this technology at different levels, from materials to systems; however, a considerable number of problems remain unsolved. The papers in the present Special Issue will try to propose, for what is possible, solutions in the domain of fuel cell technology systems.

Some key areas of investigation relevant to this issue are studies on modeling and experimental validation at different levels: i.e., cell, stack, components, and system. In addition, innovative solutions for thermal and electrical control in fuel cell systems will be given great attention. We also encourage review papers. All types of different fuel cell technologies and applications will be considered relevant.

I am looking forward to your valuable research contributions.

Assoc. Prof. Vincenzo Liso
Assoc. Prof. Yingru Zhao
Guest Editors

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Keywords

modelling and experimental validation of fuel cell system
modelling of components in fuel cell systems
experimental analysis and characterization of fuel cell systems
thermal, flow and electrochemical analysis of fuel cells systems
hybrid system analysis and integration with conventional technology
techno economic analysis of fuel cell systems
control strategies for fuel cell systems

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2160 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Analysis on the Influence of Operating Profiles on High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

by Tancredi Chinese, Federico Ustolin, Benedetta Marmiroli, Heinz Amenitsch and Rodolfo Taccani

Energies 2021, 14(20), 6737; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14206737 - 16 Oct 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2216

Abstract

The Energy System lab at the University of Trieste has carried out a study to investigate the reduction in performance of high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (HTPEM) fuel cell membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) when subjected to different ageing tests. In this study, start and stop cycles, load cycles, open circuit voltage (OCV) permanence and constant load profile were considered. Polarization curves (PC) together with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) data were recorded during the ageing tests to assess the fuel cell performance. In this paper, experimental data are presented to confirm the test methodology previously proposed by the authors and to quantitatively correlate the performance degradation to the operational profiles. It was demonstrated that OCV condition, start and stop and load cycling increase degradation of the MEAs with respect to constant load operation. As expected, the OCV is the operational condition that influences performance degradation the most. Finally, the MEAs were analyzed with synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) technique at the Austrian SAXS beamline at Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste to analyze the nano-morphological catalyst evolution. As for the catalyst morphology evolution, the ex situ SAXS methodology proposed by the authors is confirmed in its ability to assess the catalyst nanoparticles aggregation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuel Cell Systems Design and Control)

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23 pages, 13410 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Experiment of a Power Sharing Control Circuit for Parallel Fuel Cell Modules

by Chien-Chang Wu and Tsung-Lin Chen

Energies 2020, 13(11), 2838; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13112838 - 3 Jun 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2408

Abstract

In this paper, a novel control circuit that can connect fuel cell (FC) modules in parallel is proposed, which is particularly useful when the employed FCs have different electrical characteristics. Conventional methods (e.g., DC/DC converters) are not applicable in such situations because they cannot regulate the power output of each source in a parallel-connected topology. Consequently, the uniformity requirement of FCs increases and becomes costly. In contrast to existing methods, the proposed method adopts a novel power-feedback method to control the power output of each FC module under both rated conditions and load changes, which in turn determines the operating point of each FC module. Therefore, the uniformity requirement can be relaxed. For proof of concept, the experiments employed two FC-like sources with different I–V characteristics. The experimental results indicated that the power assignment under the rated condition had a relative error of < 6.62%. The distribution ratio error under the load change was < 7.43%. Therefore, the proposed method can regulate the power output (operation point) of each parallel-connected FC-like power source. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuel Cell Systems Design and Control)

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25 pages, 3348 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling and Design of a Multi-Tubular Packed-Bed Reactor for Methanol Steam Reforming over a Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ Catalyst

by Jimin Zhu, Samuel Simon Araya, Xiaoti Cui, Simon Lennart Sahlin and Søren Knudsen Kær

Energies 2020, 13(3), 610; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13030610 - 31 Jan 2020

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 26366

Abstract

Methanol as a hydrogen carrier can be reformed with steam over Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts. In this paper a comprehensive pseudo-homogenous model of a multi-tubular packed-bed reformer has been developed to investigate the impact of operating conditions and geometric parameters on its performance. A kinetic Langmuir-Hinshelwood model of the methanol steam reforming process was proposed. In addition to the kinetic model, the pressure drop and the mass and heat transfer phenomena along the reactor were taken into account. This model was verified by a dynamic model in the platform of ASPEN. The diffusion effect inside catalyst particles was also estimated and accounted for by the effectiveness factor. The simulation results showed axial temperature profiles in both tube and shell side with different operating conditions. Moreover, the lower flow rate of liquid fuel and higher inlet temperature of thermal air led to a lower concentration of residual methanol, but also a higher concentration of generated CO from the reformer exit. The choices of operating conditions were limited to ensure a tolerable concentration of methanol and CO in H₂-rich gas for feeding into a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) stack. With fixed catalyst load, the increase of tube number and decrease of tube diameter improved the methanol conversion, but also increased the CO concentration in reformed gas. In addition, increasing the number of baffle plates in the shell side increased the methanol conversion and the CO concentration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuel Cell Systems Design and Control)

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18 pages, 1392 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improving the Performance of a Dual Kalman Filter for the Identification of PEM Fuel Cells in Impedance Spectroscopy Experiments

by Antonio Guarino, Giovanni Petrone and Walter Zamboni

Energies 2019, 12(17), 3377; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12173377 - 2 Sep 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3588

Abstract

In this paper, the Dual Kalman Filter (DKF) is used for the parametric identification of an RC model of a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (FC) stack. The identification is performed for diagnostic purposes, starting from time-domain voltage and current signals in the framework of Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) tests. Here, the sinusoidal input of the tests makes the identification of DKF parameters challenging. The paper analyzes the filter performance and proposes a possible approach to address the filter tuning to let it work with FC operating either in normal conditions or in the presence of drying and flooding fault conditions, or in fuel starvation mode. The analysis is mainly performed in a simulated environment, where the Fouquet model is used to simulate the FC. Some criteria to tune the filter are derived from the analysis and used also with experimental data produced by some EIS tests, to achieve the best estimate in constrained conditions. The results show that the DKF can be turned into a valuable tool to identify the model parameters even with signals developed for other scopes. The identification results envisage the possibility of assisting the model-based FC diagnosis by means of a very simple tool that can run on a low-cost embedded device. Indeed, the simplicity of the filter approach and a lightweight implementation allow the deployment of the algorithm in embedded solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuel Cell Systems Design and Control)

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17 pages, 713 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Fault Characterization of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack

by Samuel Simon Araya, Fan Zhou, Simon Lennart Sahlin, Sobi Thomas, Christian Jeppesen and Søren Knudsen Kær

Energies 2019, 12(1), 152; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12010152 - 2 Jan 2019

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 5999

Abstract

In this paper, the main faults in a commercial proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack for micro-combined heat and power (

μ

-CHP) application are investigated, with the scope of experimentally identifying fault indicators for diagnosis purposes. The tested faults were reactant [...] Read more.

In this paper, the main faults in a commercial proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack for micro-combined heat and power (

μ

-CHP) application are investigated, with the scope of experimentally identifying fault indicators for diagnosis purposes. The tested faults were reactant starvation (both fuel and oxidant), flooding, drying, CO poisoning, and H₂S poisoning. Galvanostatic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were recorded between 2 kHz and 0.1 Hz on a commercial stack of 46 cells of a 100-

{cm}^{2}

active area each. The results, obtained through distribution of relaxation time (DRT) analysis of the EIS data, show that characteristic peaks of the DRT and their changes with the different fault intensity levels can be used to extract the features of the tested faults. It was shown that flooding and drying present features on the opposite ends of the frequency spectrum due the effect of drying on the membrane conductivity and the blocking effect of flooding that constricts the reactants’ flow. Moreover, it was seen that while the effect of CO poisoning is limited to high frequency processes, above 100 Hz, the effects of H₂S extend to below 10 Hz. Finally, the performance degradation due to all the tested faults, including H₂S poisoning, is recoverable to a great extent, implying that condition correction after fault detection can contribute to prolonged lifetime of the fuel cell. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuel Cell Systems Design and Control)

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24 pages, 16095 KiB

Open AccessArticle

System Design and Energy Management for a Fuel Cell/Battery Hybrid Forklift

by Zhiyu You, Liwei Wang, Ying Han and Firuz Zare

Energies 2018, 11(12), 3440; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11123440 - 8 Dec 2018

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5654

Abstract

Electric forklifts, dominantly powered by lead acid batteries, are widely used for material handling in factories, warehouses, and docks. The long charging time and short working time characteristics of the lead acid battery module results in the necessity of several battery modules to support one forklift. Compared with the cost and time consuming lead acid battery charging system, a fuel cell/battery hybrid power module could be more convenient for a forklift with fast hydrogen refueling and long working time. In this paper, based on the characteristics of a fuel cell and a battery, a prototype hybrid forklift with a fuel cell/battery hybrid power system is constructed, and its hardware and software are designed in detail. According to the power demand of driver cycles and the state of charge (SOC) of battery, an energy management strategy based on load current following for the hybrid forklift is proposed to improve system energy efficiency and dynamic response performance. The proposed energy management strategy will fulfill the power requirements under typical driving cycles, achieve reasonable power distribution between the fuel cell and battery and, thus, prolong its continuous working time. The proposed energy management strategy is implemented in the hybrid forklift prototype and its effectiveness is tested under different operating conditions. The results show that the forklift with the proposed hybrid powered strategy has good performance with different loads, both lifting and moving, in a smooth and steady way, and the output of the fuel cell meets the requirements of its output characteristics, its SOC of battery remaining at a reasonable level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuel Cell Systems Design and Control)

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Review

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32 pages, 1383 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of The Methanol Economy: The Fuel Cell Route

by Samuel Simon Araya, Vincenzo Liso, Xiaoti Cui, Na Li, Jimin Zhu, Simon Lennart Sahlin, Søren Højgaard Jensen, Mads Pagh Nielsen and Søren Knudsen Kær

Energies 2020, 13(3), 596; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13030596 - 29 Jan 2020

Cited by 152 | Viewed by 29670

Abstract

This review presents methanol as a potential renewable alternative to fossil fuels in the fight against climate change. It explores the renewable ways of obtaining methanol and its use in efficient energy systems for a net zero-emission carbon cycle, with a special focus on fuel cells. It investigates the different parts of the carbon cycle from a methanol and fuel cell perspective. In recent years, the potential for a methanol economy has been shown and there has been significant technological advancement of its renewable production and utilization. Even though its full adoption will require further development, it can be produced from renewable electricity and biomass or CO₂ capture and can be used in several industrial sectors, which make it an excellent liquid electrofuel for the transition to a sustainable economy. By converting CO₂ into liquid fuels, the harmful effects of CO₂ emissions from existing industries that still rely on fossil fuels are reduced. The methanol can then be used both in the energy sector and the chemical industry, and become an all-around substitute for petroleum. The scope of this review is to put together the different aspects of methanol as an energy carrier of the future, with particular focus on its renewable production and its use in high-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) via methanol steam reforming. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuel Cell Systems Design and Control)

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