TESTING OF 500 W ELECTRIC POWER PEM FUEL CELL STACK FOR APU APPLICATION

It seems that the hydrogen technology and issues connected with this subject (production, storage, applications etc.) becoming more and more common in the present world. It is believed that in the next few years hydrogen will be commonly used for electrical energy production as well for stationary, portable as automotive applications. It can be realized by use of fuel cells. At present that devices are under very high development. Although there are many problems to be solved before forecast will come truth. The presented paper concerns research works on fuel cells at the Electrotechnical Institute. The researches are focused on PEMFC and SOFC. In both types of fuel cells the main goal of the Institute is development of new electrolyte materials, electrical and electrochemical measurements as well as fuel cell testing. The elaborated materials are investigated in real fuel cell working conditions on special designed and constructed fuel cell test bench. The test stand allows optimization of working conditions of units in the power range from few watts up to one kilo watt. Latest investigations were performed on purchased 500 W power PEM fuel cell stack having in mind the possibility of its application in a fuel cell based auxiliary power unit (APU). The equipment and measurement methods applied during investigations are described and results of conducted tests are presented.