Alcohol Fuel Cells at Optimal Temperatures

High-power-density alcohol fuel cells can relieve many of the daunting challenges facing a hydrogen energy economy. Here, such fuel cells are achieved using CsH 2 PO 4 as the electrolyte and integrating into the anode chamber a Cu - ZnO ∕ Al 2 O 3 methanol steam-reforming catalyst. The temperature of operation, ∼ 250 ° C , is matched both to the optimal value for fuel cell power output and for reforming. Peak power densities using methanol and ethanol were 226 and 100 mW ∕ cm 2 , respectively. The high power output ( 305 mW ∕ cm 2 ) obtained from reformate fuel containing 1% CO demonstrates the potential of this approach with optimized reforming catalysts and also the tolerance to CO poisoning at these elevated temperatures.