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FULLY UNITIZED FUEL CELL MANUFACTURED BY A CONTINUOUS PROCESS THIS PROJECT WILL DEMONSTRATE A POLYMER ELECTROLYTE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL (PEMFC) BIPOLAR PLATE (BPP) ARCHITECTURE FOR HEAVY-DUTY APPLICATIONS USING FLAT FOIL METAL SEPARATORS WITH GROOVES IN THE DIFFUSION SUBSTRATES THAT IS MANUFACTURED IN A CONTINUOUS ROLL-TO-ROLL PROCESS. THE PROPOSED ARCHITECTURE IS LIGHTWEIGHT WITH MASS TO POWER RATIO EXCEEDING THE DOE 2030 TARGET OF 0.18 KG/KWNET. IT WILL BE VALIDATED THROUGH SMALL-SCALE AND FULL-SCALE STACK PERFORMANCE TESTING. THIS ARCHITECTURE IS BEING DEVELOPED FOR CONTINUOUS AND LOW-COST MANUFACTURING. THE PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE AND DEMONSTRATE KEY MANUFACTURING PROCESSES TO SUPPORT A DETAILED TECHNOECONOMIC ANALYSIS (TEA) OF PRODUCTION COST FOR 10M BIPOLAR PLATES PER YEAR. MATERIAL COMPATIBILITY AND DURABILITY IN A FUEL CELL ENVIRONMENT WILL CONSTRAIN BASE METAL, CORROSION INHIBITING COATING, AND CARBON FIBER SELECTION. THE PROJECT WILL CULMINATE WITH A SHORT STACK DEMONSTRATION. THIS PERFORMANCE DEMONSTRATION COMBINED WITH THE TEA AND MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT WILL BE USED TO VALIDATE THAT THE PROPOSED CONCEPT MEETS ALL DOE 2030 BIPOLAR PLATE TARGETS. THIS THREE-YEAR PROJECT HAS THREE BUDGET PERIODS SEPARATED BY GO/NO-GO DECISION GATES THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR PROJECT SUCCESS.

$1,337,659FY2022Department of EnergyDOE

Plug Power Inc.

Investigators

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