NXCT fuel cell project: Four-dimensional in situ visualization of fuel cell degradation

氢燃料电池汽车为加拿大的交通系统提供清洁、安静和低排放的解决方案 以及世界范围内。根据氢气来源的不同，这些车辆可以减少60%-100%的二氧化碳排放 现有的汽油和柴油内燃机技术，虽然提供类似的驾驶性能， 舒适性和续航能力。燃料电池汽车在使用时实现了真正的零排放，只产生清洁的水 作为最终产品，并在可再生燃料来源为 受雇的。巴拉德燃料电池技术开创了燃料电池公共汽车和仓库升降机的全球市场 自20世纪90年代初以来一直是卡车。S。第6代重型技术目前部署在20辆大巴车队中 惠斯勒、不列颠哥伦比亚省和数以千计的巴拉德燃料电池驱动的升降卡车发动机已经部署在世界各地。在……里面 为了进入下一阶段的部署，巴拉德的首要任务是降低燃料电池的资本成本 模块，同时延长产品寿命，以达到或超过现有的内燃机。 NXCT(读作“NEXT”)燃料电池项目将发展NEXT所需的基本理解和技术 世代巴拉德燃料电池产品。在APC支持下，一种新型的纳米X射线计算机层析成像(NXCT)燃料 将建设电池测试设施。这个设施将在世界上独一无二，并使令人兴奋的研究进展成为可能 这在以前是不可能的。NXCT X光机与定制硬件相结合，将允许 研究人员在运行过程中“原位”扫描燃料电池的内部结构。类似于X光和CT扫描 在人体上进行，本技术是非侵入性和·非破坏性的，并可用于3D 在不损坏被研究标本的情况下进行可视化。然而，本研究将更进一步，并 在包括时间域在内的四个维度上可视化燃料电池，以建立对 汽车系统中燃料电池运行过程中出现的退化现象。该计划汇集了一个 来自Ballard Power Systems和Simon Fraser的具有互补性的多学科专业知识组成的有凝聚力的研究团队 学术界和产业界互动密切的大学。NXCT燃料电池项目来得正是时候，因为它将推进 下一代燃料电池产品的耐用性和价值主张，提供现有市场的增长以及 为加拿大制造的清洁能源燃料电池解决方案提供新的新兴市场。

Hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles offer a clean, quiet, and low-emission solution for transportation systems in Canada and worldwide. Depending on the source of hydrogen, these vehicles can reduce C02 emissions by 60-100% versus incumbent gasoline and diesel internal combustion engine technology, while offering similar driving performance, comfort, and range. Fuel cell vehicles enable a true zero-emission profile at the point of use, producing only clean water as end product, and enable a near zero-emission profile on a well-to-wheel basis where a renewable fuel source is employed. Ballard fuel cell technology has pioneered the global market for fuel cell transit buses and warehouse lift trucks since the early 1990's. The 6th generation heavy duty technology is presently deployed for a 20-bus fleet in Whistler, B.C. and thousands of Ballard fuel cell powered lift truck engines have been deployed around the world. In order to proceed to the next level of deployment, the priority for Ballard is to drive down the capital cost of fuel cell modules, while simultaneously extending product lifetime to meet or exceed that of incumbent combustion engines. The NXCT (read: "next") Fuel Cell project will develop fundamental understanding and technology required for next generation Ballard fuel cell products. With APC support, a novel Nano X-ray Computed Tomography (NXCT) based fuel cell testing facility will be constructed. This facility will be unique in the world, and enable exciting research advances that were previously not possible. The NXCT x-ray instrument combined with customized hardware will allow the researchers to scan the internal structure of the fuel cell 'in situ' during operation. Similar to x-ray and CT scans performed on the human body, the present technique is non-intrusive and ·non-destructive, and can be utilized for 3-D visualization without damage to the specimen under study. The present research will however go one step further and visualize the fuel cell in four dimensions, including the time domain, to establish a detailed fundamental understanding of the degradation phenomena that occur during fuel cell operation in automotive systems. The program brings together a cohesive research team of complementary, multidisciplinary expertise from Ballard Power Systems and Simon Fraser University with close interaction between academia and industry. The NXCT Fuel Cell project is timely as it will advance the durability and value proposition of next generation fuel cells products, providing growth of existing markets as well as enabling new emerging markets for Made-in-Canada clean energy fuel cell solutions.