Development of an Alkaline Anion Exchange Membrane Direct Ethylene Glycol Fuel Cell Stack

Direct alcohol fuel cells are a promising option for portable power supply. Currently, direct methanol fuel cells are the best known direct alcohol fuel cells. They use proton exchange membrane technology and have achieved a high maturity. However, both the use of methanol as fuel and the use of PEM technology do have some draw backs. So methanol is more toxic than other alcohols and thus still lacks public acceptance. Also the high flammability leads to some transport restrictions. PEM technology requires the use of noble metal and in particular platinum based catalysts. As catalyst loading in direct alcohol fuel cells will be higher than in hydrogen fuel cells, this cost factor is not negligible for many applications. Alkaline fuel cells using anion exchange membrane are an interesting option to avoid the latte