Durable Fuel Cells

Kjeang博士是西蒙弗雷泽大学燃料电池科学和技术开发的CRC(Tier 2)。拟议的耐用燃料电池发现研究计划致力于氢燃料电池在零排放重型运输系统(包括卡车运输、铁路、海运和航空)中使用所需的严格耐久性方面的杰出科学前沿。重点是重型卡车和相关的3万小时的最终寿命目标，相当于100万英里，这是轻型汽车的三倍多，对燃料电池和零排放汽车制造商构成了相当大的挑战。主要的研究目标是：1)深入了解燃料电池在动态运行条件下从根本原因到失效的关键机理；2)开发用于车辆应用的燃料电池寿命预测的建模工具；以及3)展示用于交通系统的高性价比、可扩展的燃料电池技术的耐久性增强策略。该研究计划的长期愿景是与加拿大日益增长的清洁技术行业合作，开发市场上最耐用、最可靠和可扩展的燃料电池系统并将其商业化。这项研究将利用Kjeang博士开创的独创方法，对燃料电池的降解进行多尺度、时间分辨率的X射线可视化。这种方法能够对小型燃料电池进行非侵入性的X射线成像，在降解过程中可以定期应用，从而有助于对本地燃料电池环境中的根本原因、降解机制和故障模式进行前所未有的信息量和四维评估。由此获得的新的基本认识将随后被用来开发新的耐久性增强方法和寿命预测工具。拟议的研究计划是为了响应新发布的加拿大氢气战略的行动呼吁，抓住氢气的机遇，强调进一步研发投资的重要性，以“进一步降低成本”，并“发现新的突破性技术，使该行业受益”，以保持创新的前沿，并保持加拿大在氢气和燃料电池领域的竞争优势。在此背景下，该研究将为耐久性管理创造突破性技术，降低零排放燃料电池电动汽车的制造和生命周期成本。通过与产业界的现有合作，成果将有效地转化为产品和服务，根据加拿大的氢气战略，实现现实世界的利用以及相关的经济、社会和环境效益。此外，这项研究还将为这个不断增长的行业培养下一代工程师。

Dr. Kjeang is the CRC (Tier 2) in Fuel Cell Science and Technology Development at Simon Fraser University. The proposed discovery research program on Durable Fuel Cells addresses the outstanding scientific frontier on the stringent durability required for hydrogen fuel cell use in zero-emission heavy duty transportation systems, including trucking, rail, marine, and aviation. The emphasis is on heavy duty trucks and the associated ultimate lifetime target of 30,000 hours, equivalent to one million miles, which is more than three times higher than that of light duty vehicles and poses a considerable challenge for fuel cell and zero-emission vehicle producers. The main research objectives are to: 1) Develop in-depth knowledge of the key fuel cell degradation mechanisms from root cause to failure under dynamic operating conditions; 2) Develop modeling tools for fuel cell lifetime predictions in vehicle applications; and 3)Demonstrate strategies for durability enhancement of cost-effective, scalable fuel cell technologies for transportation systems. The long-term vision of this research program is to team up with the growing cleantech industry in Canada to develop and commercialize the most durable, reliable, and scalable fuel cell systems on the market. This research will utilize an original methodology pioneered by Dr. Kjeang for multiscale, time-resolved X-ray visualization of fuel cell degradation. This method enables non-invasive X-ray imaging of a miniaturized fuel cell that can be periodically applied during degradation, thus facilitating an unprecedently informative, four-dimensional assessment of root causes, degradation mechanisms, and failure modes within the native fuel cell environment. The new fundamental understanding thus achieved will subsequently be leveraged to develop novel durability enhancement approaches and lifetime prediction tools. The proposed research program is designed in response to the Call to Action of the newly released Hydrogen Strategy for Canada, Seizing the Opportunities for Hydrogen, which stresses the importance of further R&D investments to "reduce costs further" and "discover new breakthrough technologies to benefit the sector" to stay at the forefront of innovation and sustain Canada's competitive advantages in the hydrogen and fuel cell sector. In this context, the research will create breakthrough technologies for durability management and reduce manufacturing and lifecycle costs of zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicles. Through existing collaborations with industry, the outcomes will be effectively translated into products and services that enable real-world utilization and associated economic, societal, and environmental benefits, in accordance with the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada. Additionally, this research will train the next generation engineers for this growing industry.