High Volume Manufacturing of MEAs

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High Volume Manufacturing of MEAs other bad
things

• 3rd Annual MEA Manufacturing Symposium Aug 22,
  2007

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Mind of Mencia .Willis
I was a simply Mechanical Engineer before I met
Fuel Cells
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Mind of Mencia .Willis-then Fuel Cells
became my life
Thermal Engineer
Materials Engineer
Mechanical Engineer
Electro-Chemist
Hydraulic Engineer
Thermal Engineer
Electrical Engineer
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Mind of Mencia .Willis-then Fuel Cells
became my life now scrambled eggs!
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A little about PET Manufacturing of MEAs
National Composite Center Dayton, Ohio
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PET Equipment
Wet Processing Machines
Lab Laminator
Catalyst Electro-deposition Machine
Laminator flow Assembly bench
50 Ton TMP Vacuum Oven Press
24 Laminator Anti-Static roller
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High Volume Manufacturing???

• Batch laminating of MEAs versus Continuous Roll
  Bonding
• Batch bonding
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• 210 C and compressed to 110 lbs per square
  centimeters for 5 minutes.
• DYMOS
• Anode pressed at 100Kg/cm2 and 125 C for 5
  minutes
• Cathode pressed at 50 kg/cm2 and 125 C for 5
  minutes
• Fraunhofer
• 126 KN at 128 C for 10 minutes.
• NOTE
• If we were to match the Prius production
  (500k units annually) with a 200 volt 50Kw
  electric motor that would require 143MM MEAs
  at 5 minutes each. At 40 hours/week and 80
  efficiency, one operator can produce 19,200 units
  per year! That would require nearly 7500 operator
  for the Prius alone!

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High Volume Manufacturing

• Batch laminating of MEAs versus Continuous Roll
  Bonding
• Roll bonding
• Actual compression area is small 5mm x width
• Temperature can be considerably above transition
  temperatures based on rate and heat transfer
• Pressure (and hence mechanical damage to
  electrode fibers) can be lowered
• NOTE
• Again, if we were to match the Prius demand
  and 60 MEAs per minute are possible. With roll
  laminating as a continuous process , with 3
  shifts -7 days per week-52 weeks per year, each
  roll laminating machine would generate over 31MM
  MEAs.
• THIS WOULD STILL REQUIRE AT LEAST 5 ROLLING
  MACHINES RUNNING CONTINUOUSLY WITHOUT FAILURE!

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High Volume Manufacturing of MEAs
Lets take a quick view on a topic, some of us
may be familiar .
Anheuser Busch can produce approximately 28
bottles of beer per second !!! If 10 U.S. auto
sales were Fuel Cells32 MEAs per second
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Electrode Materials
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Backing Paper-GDL
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Inconsistent Materials Inconsistent
OperationSame material
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Know your materials and their limitations
This material had splintering coming through to
the surface and pierced the thin Membrane It
also had different electrical characteristics
depending on orientation
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And the Fuel Cell leaders are not without fault

• A 50 m2 roll of a well-know membrane manufacturer
  continues to split at the end seem where it was
  slit!

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High Volume MEAs

• Please note that high volume processing does not
  include
• CVD Processes
• Spraying
• Ink printing
• Or any other processes measured in seconds,
  minutes, or hours !!!

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Electrode Process
Tape Cast
Spraying
Electro-Deposition
Extruding Rolling
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Laminating Issues

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High Production means Rolled materials
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Lamination takes time to match Rate
Pressure-Temperature to all the materials

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Precision Energy and Technology (PET)
The Heart of PETs High Volume MEA Fuel Cell
Capability

• Results
• MEA Bonder
• Two Patents (applied)
• Flexible anode cathode
• Flexible Membrane
• Flexible Pressure Temperature-Rate

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THANK YOU

• Special Thanks to my Team-mates in the MEA
  Bonder
• EMTEC
• Faraday Technologies
• Case Western