VII.B.3 Enabling Commercial PEM Fuel Cells with Breakthrough Lifetime Improvements

• This project will result in lifetime improvements of low-temperature proton exchange membranes (PEMs) by seeking technologies that will prevent membrane failure. • This will be accomplished by conducting research that elucidates failure mechanisms and lifetime extension technologies that yield membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) that meet or exceed a lifetime of 40,000 hours operation with <10% degradation in performance under stationary operating conditions. In addition, the MEAs developed will meet or exceed requirements of automotive durability of 5000 hours lifetime with <10% performance degradation.