Ice Formation during PEM Fuel Cell Cold Start: Acceptable or Not?

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Energy Conversion

Background:

• Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells face significant challenges during cold starts at sub-freezing temperatures.
• Understanding and mitigating degradation mechanisms during startup is crucial for widespread PEM fuel cell adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop comprehensive in situ techniques for analyzing icing processes and degradation mechanisms during PEM fuel cell cold starts.
• To create a degradation mechanism map and an ideal starting strategy to enable degradation-free cold starts.

Main Methods:

• Utilized comprehensive in situ non-accelerated segmented techniques.
• Analyzed icing processes and degradation under freeze-thaw cycles, voltage reversal, and component-specific ice formation.
• Investigated effects of varying freezing times on degradation.

Main Results:

• Developed a detailed degradation mechanism map for PEM fuel cell cold starts.
• Identified acceptable ice formation conditions and methods for suppression.
• Proposed an ideal starting strategy for achieving cold starts without degradation.

Conclusions:

• The developed map provides valuable insights into cold start degradation mechanisms.
• The proposed strategy enables efficient and non-degrading cold starts for PEM fuel cells.
• This research promotes the commercialization of PEM fuel cells by addressing cold start challenges.