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Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

In the SymPowerco Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell or FE DMFC, the expensive PEM is replaced by a flowing electrolyte, sulfuric acid, the same acid found in automobile batteries. A PEM is also required in the FE DMFC but it can be a far less expensive PEM with much lower resistance. This cheaper PEM allows some crossover of methanol but the flowing electrolyte removes the methanol, thus increasing fuel cell efficiency by about 30%. The result is a lower cost and more efficient DMFC and a probable smoother and cheaper route to commercialization.

Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

The FE DMFC has several other advantages over the PEM DMFC. The most important is superior startup and shutdown performance. When the FE DMFC is shut down the electrolyte is drained from the cell thereby shutting down the fuel cell with no residual voltages. The PEM DMFC shuts down with high voltages present causing degradation of expensive catalysts and other components. The FE DMFC also shows much more constant voltage over its output range than the PEM DMFC, which experiences voltage drop at high output.

Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Stack

One of the main advantages of a flowing electrolyte system is simple thermal and water management and the possibility to remove reaction products and impurities continuously during operation. The system can be shut down completely and restarted as desired, which, unlike other fuel cells, allows only actual operating hours to be considered part of the fuel cell’s life-cycle. In fact, it is anticipated that interruptions improve or revive the catalysts as has been clearly established for larger scale flowing electrolyte types of fuel cells like the alkaline and acidic systems.


SymPowerco with its development partners will announce the FE DMFC development objectives and activities in the near future.