Alkaline fuel cells:: contemporary advancement and limitations

ZeTek Power recently introduced mass manufacturable and cost effective alkaline fuel cells on the market. Today's research is focused on further improvement both in terms of performance increase and cost reduction. This research is classically performed using small (4 cm(2)) experimental electrodes in the half-cell configuration. This allows the primary electrochemical losses in an anode or cathode to be determined independently. Additional performance losses occur when one integrates large electrodes into a module of 24 cells and in a stack comprised of many modules. By comparing the performance of half-cell experiments to that of modules, these losses can be distinguished and addressed. The information thus obtained, both for the small electrodes and in up-scaling is vital if one is to identify the key areas in which improvement is possible and where to focus future research. Furthermore, the identification of the losses in a module and system allows us to predict the final performance from half-cell measurements of a new laboratory scale experimental electrode. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.