Fuel Cell Development at the German Aerospace Center in Stuttgart

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) – together with the Research Center Jülich - is developing fuel cells as a part of the program “Efficient Energy Conversion” of the Helmholtz Society. The main focus of the research and development are the application of polymer electrolyte fuel cell as well as the solid oxide fuel cell technology for high-efficient power plants and as auxiliary power units for special applications in transportation and space exploration (e.g. in cars and aircrafts). The primary goals of the research at DLR on the cell level are the enhancement of power density, of long lifetime, and the reduction of materials and manufacturing costs. For that purpose the identification of degradation mechanisms in cells and stacks and their prevention is an important topic and is pursued by combining in-situ and ex-situ investigation methods. Locally resolved analytical tools have been developed for both low-temperature and high-temperature fuel cells and are the basis for understanding in-situ performance. Another research topic is the development of advanced cell and stack designs, namely the development of anode-substrate supported cells with thin film cells applied by the efficient plasma spray method developed at DLR. The main focus lies on further improvements of the gas tightness of the electrolyte and the development of stacks stable upon thermal cycling. Typical development results, amongst others, consist of new and improved materials for cells and stacks and low-cost processing suitable for mass-production. Modeling of transport processes in sensitive components, and the development and characterization of components of fuel cell systems constitute further important activities that are also coupled with the assessment of technical developments. Systems are being developed on the basis of dynamic system modeling for portable, stationary and mobile applications in order to derive an optimized integration of fuel cells. The purpose is to provide industrial partners with the system know-how and to derive the important requirements for the fuel cells in the system context