Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) and Electrolysis Cells (PEMEC)

Dear colleagues,

A proton exchange membrane or polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) is a semiporous material generally made from ionomers and designed to conduct protons while acting as an electronic insulator and reactant barrier, e.g., to oxygen and hydrogen gas. This is their basic function when incorporated into a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) or a proton exchange membrane electrolysis cell (PEMEC): separation of reactants and transport of protons while blocking a direct electronic pathway through the membrane.

PEMFC is able to generate high gravimetric and volumetric power densities while offering faster start-up and better durability then other types of fuel cell. Today, PEMFCs have dominated in the market in both the number of units and total power generated. However, there are still some technical challenges that the technology of PEMFC needs to overcome, including the new invention of a polymer electrolyte membrane to improve conductivity and durability; the development of a catalyst to enhance activity and robustness; the enhancement of transports inside the gas diffusion layer; the new material and design of a flow-field channel of bipolar plates including stack development; and the innovation of artificial intelligence for system integration of PEMFC. Last but not least, manufacturing research and development is also necessary to prepare advanced manufacturing and assembly technologies.

PEMEC is based on the solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) concept for water electrolysis with the advantages of high-power density and cell efficiency, provision of highly compressed and pure hydrogen, and flexible operation. However, its disadvantages include expensive platinum catalyst and fluorinated membrane materials, high system complexity due to high pressure operation and water purity requirements, and a shorter lifetime. Current development efforts are therefore targeted at reducing system complexity to enable system scale-up and reducing capital costs through less expensive materials and more sophisticated stack manufacturing processes.

To address today’s needs in the PEMFC and PEMEC industry, this Special Issue on PEMFC and PEMEC focuses on research related to:

• Material durability and reliability;
• Innovative and alternative materials;
• Characterization methods;
• Transports study and management;
• Numerical modeling and simulations;
• System integration;
• Industrial production technologies;
• Operating strategies.

Prof. Dr. Sirivatch Shimpalee
Guest Editor

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• PEMFC
• PEMEC
• modeling and numerical simulations
• characterization
• materials and components
• thermal and water management
• degradation
• failure mechanisms
• production technology
• system integration