Perhaprs some of the most innovative work on fuel cells has been the research dedicated to applying silicon fabrication techniques to fuel cells technology creating low power microscale fuel cells applicable to microelectro mechanical systems (MEMS), microsensors, cell phones, PDA’s, and other low power (0.001 to 5 We) applications. In this small power range, fuel cells offer the decoupling of the energy converter from the energy storage which may enable longer operating times and instant or near instant charging. To date, most of the microscale fuel cells being developed have been based on proton exchange membrane fuel cell technology (PEMFC) or direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology. This section will discuss requirements and considerations that need to be addressed in the development of microscale fuel cells, as well as some proposed designs and fabrication strategies.
Revised: June 8, 2011 |
Published: November 3, 2005
Citation
Holladay J.D., and V.V. Viswanathan. 2005.Microscale Fuel Cells. In Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing, edited by S Lee. 1663-1672. New York:Taylor and Francis.PNNL-SA-40734.