AFC Energy has opened a dedicated Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) Fuel Cell test facility in Surrey
The new facility is an essential step in the company’s path to a pre commercial prototype of its new, high power density HydroX-Cell(S) fuel cell system, resulting from the development progress of its AlkaMem anion exchange membrane.
The new HydroX-Cell(S) Fuel Cell research facility will support the rapid work scheduled to meet the company’s remaining development plans. Initial design work has concluded on the stack design for the “S” Series AEM fuel cell and the final build of this unit will provide the set-up needed to validate the design criteria for the modular 10 kW HydroX-Cell(S) fuel cell stack, a commercial scale product of which will be released in late 2022.
The work being undertaken will focus on enhancing membrane mechanical strength, improving the performance and stability of the ionomer, producing consistent MEAs or tuning the preparation steps to enable a range of membrane thicknesses to be offered.
According to Adam Bond of AFC Energy, the new AEM hydrogen fuel cell research facility reinforces the development of arguably the world’s most promising, low cost, high energy dense fuel cell technology. “We continue to believe this platform will compete head on with incumbent high energy dense fuel cells in the market today,” he says.