Fuel Cells are receiving considerable attention as clean, highly efficient devices for the production of both electricity and, for some applications, high-grade waste heat.

Fuel cell technology is now commercially available in markets such as batttery chargers, fork lift trucks and scooters. But they still have yet to break through into mass market applications although several products are close to commercial launch.

The key challenge for fuel cells is to demonstrate sufficient durability for commerical launch. The SUPERGEN fuel cell consortium was founded in 2005 to address these challenges and help bring fuel cells closer to commercial use.

The consortium is now in its second phase, which began in October 2009. Six academic institutions and three industrial organisations belong to the second phase consortium.

Aim of the consortium

The consortium aims to develop novel fuel cell measurement and modelling methods and apply them to improve our understanding of the factors impacting on the perfomance and durability of fuel cells. Knowledge will be transferred through the academic-industrial partnership within industry technology development programmes.

There are six work streams:

1. Development of novel measurement methods for fuel cell application to explore macroscopic behavious of electrodes. These build on the electrode imaging and modelling progress made in the first phase.
2. Understanding of mechanical failure within fuel cells including sintering in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) thick film electrolytes and both time independent and dependent failure modes.
3. Improving the understanding of materials behaviour within Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC), particularly with materials and conditions relevant to industry to support the knowledge exchange.
4. Improving the understanding of materials behaviour within Solid Oxide Fuel Cells including electrode microstructure.
5. Development of a new class of proton conducting fuel cells that operate at temperatures between 200-

550°C. This extends the upper temperature limit of a PEMFC and the lower temperature of SOFCs.

6. Dissemination and outreach, including representing the UK fuel cell research community and providing training for staff and students.