The U.S. DOEs High Temperature Membrane Effort

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is sponsoring research and development (R&D) efforts emphasising fuel cell membrane materials that can operate at temperatures up to 120 °C with no inlet humidification and at total pressures of <2.5 atm. Several different strategies are being investigated and will be discussed. Recent results have demonstrated improved conductivity at lower relative humidity (RH) compared to standard perfluorosulphonic acid membranes. At 120 °C, conductivity approaching 0.1 S cm–1 has been achieved at 50% RH, an improvement over Nafion 112 by more than a factor of three. Detailed results of DOE sponsored research will be discussed, as well as incorporation of membranes into membrane electrode assemblies. Finally, the impact of the different strategies on durability will be discussed.