Understanding Fuel Cells and Fuel Cell Components

Many companies are diligently working to bring hydrogen, reformate, and methanol fed polymer electrolyte fuel cell products to a variety of markets. It appears that currently available fuel cell materials and designs will be adequate for near-term markets with the highest cost ($/kW) entry points. In these cases, challenges in engineering, manufacturing, and marketing must be overcome to prior to successful market penetration. In order to develop next generation fuel cells, a better understanding of the properties of the materials sued within fuel cells and the mechanisms of operation of those components. The purpose of this conference will be to review the current approaches being used to develop next-generation materials, and the diagnostic and theoretical techniques being used to understand the operation of current fuel cells.