V.H.1 new High-Performance Water Vapor Membranes t o Improve Fuel c ell Balance-of-Plant Efficiency and Lower Costs (SBIR Phase II)

The design and development of high performance low cost water vapor membranes for cathode humidification through unique polymer structures was explored. The commercially available 25-μm (N111) and 50-μm (N112) Nafion membranes do not meet the 18,000 GPU performance target herein, and neither does a Perma PureTM device made with Nafion hollow tube membranes. The water transfer permeance target of 18,000 GPU (1 GPU=1x10 cm(standard temperature and pressure)/(cm·s·cmHg) is a 50% increase over the 25 μm Nafion N111. Once the performance is met, the need for minimal crossover, loss in performance, highest durability temperatures and lowest cost will be addressed as outlined in our Phase II proposal. The current status for water permeance is highlighted in Figure 1, in which the 18,000 GPU target was achieved.