Developing new approaches for the cost-efficient and high-speed production of fuel cells

For hydrogen know-how to turn into a key to the power transition, it must take a decisive step ahead towards broad utility. The principle elements holding again this longed-for breakthrough, nevertheless, are the excessive prices of costly supplies and sophisticated manufacturing processes for gasoline cells and electrolyzers.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Expertise ILT is tackling these challenges and dealing laborious to develop cost-efficient and scalable options. At Hy-fcell 2024 in Stuttgart, the Aachen-based institute can be presenting pioneering improvements in Corridor 4, Stand 4E51, transformations that assist to make production processes significantly extra economical and sustainable on the identical time.

Laser-based drying of electrodes: Power effectivity, pace and area financial savings in gasoline cell manufacturing

Because the demand for fuel cells grows, it’s changing into more and more necessary to make manufacturing processes extra environment friendly. But, a key problem stays: drying the wet-applied electrode layers for the membrane electrode meeting (MEA) within the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) gasoline cell. Conventionally, this course of is carried out in massive convection ovens, which eat a substantial amount of power and take up appreciable area in a manufacturing corridor.

Fraunhofer ILT has developed a laser-assisted drying know-how that addresses these points. The usage of lasers, which expose the electrodes selectively, reduces the drying time from a number of minutes all the way down to just some seconds. This drastic discount in drying time considerably will increase manufacturing pace, significantly within the roll-to-roll course of.

Moreover, this course of reduces power necessities in comparison with standard gas-powered steady ovens. As well as, the laser system requires significantly much less area, which allows a extra compact and versatile manufacturing line.

“By developing a laser-based roll-to-roll process for the production of membrane electrode units, we are taking an important step towards making fuel-cell manufacturing processes more efficient. With our laser-assisted drying technology, we are setting a new standard that not only increases production speed, but also optimizes energy efficiency and space utilization,” explains Manuella Guirgues from the Skinny Movie Processing group at Fraunhofer ILT.

Corrosion safety coatings for bipolar plates: Growing effectivity and lowering prices in gasoline cell manufacturing

Significantly with PEM gasoline cells, the aggressive chemical circumstances throughout the gasoline cell pose new challenges for manufacturing. Defending the metallic bipolar plates (BPP) from corrosion will not be solely important for the service lifetime of the cell, but additionally for the effectivity of your complete fuel-cell stack.

When BPPs are coated with chemical or bodily vapor deposition in a vacuum, prices rise and manufacturing slows down. Fraunhofer ILT is engaged on a course of that mixes spray coating with laser-beam processing with a purpose to obtain an electrically conductive and corrosion-resistant end on the metallic bipolar plates—with out the necessity for an energy-intensive vacuum course of.

This strategy can’t solely considerably scale back manufacturing prices by the usage of cost-effective supplies, but additionally be higher built-in into steady manufacturing processes. The excessive scalability of the method helps to effectively serve the rising marketplace for PEM gasoline cells.

Julius Funke from the Excessive Temperature Functionalization group emphasizes, “Our laser-based method for the production of corrosion protection layers offers an efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional vacuum processes. It enables faster production and improved scalability, which is crucial to meet the increasing demand for PEM fuel cells.”

Optimization of gasoline cell manufacturing by double-beam welding and restore of forming instruments

Double-beam welding can be used to hurry up manufacturing elsewhere. This course of makes use of two laser beams concurrently to weld the metallic bipolar plates, a method that reduces the cycle time by nearly 50% with out compromising the seam high quality.

When the 2 beams are used to weld at one level, the soften pool dynamics might be influenced selectively, enabling greater welding speeds and avoiding typical defects reminiscent of humping. This course of allows quicker and extra environment friendly manufacturing that meets the rising calls for of hydrogen know-how.

The manufacturing of metallic BPPs can be hampered by the service lifetime of the software steels used. The instruments are inclined to put on attributable to their excessive mechanical masses. The strategy taken by ILT is to interchange cost-intensive software steels with structural steels and to use high-quality put on safety coatings utilizing excessive high-speed laser cladding (EHLA).

In comparison with standard software steels, the coated workpieces exhibit a rise in sliding friction put on resistance by an element of greater than 10. The EHLA course of additionally permits broken areas of the instruments to be repaired, enabling the instruments to be tailored and reused. This know-how considerably extends the service lifetime of the instruments, which in flip reduces manufacturing prices and will increase sustainability in manufacturing.

Fraunhofer ILT is creating numerous processes to make the method chain for manufacturing fuel-cell parts extra environment friendly. These embody high-speed chopping, with which the BPPs are exactly trimmed and media feed holes are reduce straight.

An modern strategy is the laser-based introduction of microstructures into the metallic BPP, which scale back {the electrical} contact resistance and displace the water from the contact zone throughout operation of the gasoline cell.

The Aachen researchers are additionally intensively investigating the structuring and welding of compound BPPs and MEAs with a purpose to additional automate the manufacturing of gasoline cells and make it extra environment friendly.

Offered by Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Expertise ILT