Development of micro fuel cells with organic substrates and electronics manufacturing technologies

A PEM micro fuel cell system is described which is based on self-breathing PEM micro fuel cells in the power range between 1 mW and 1 W. Micro patterned substrates were used as micro flow fields and replacement of gas diffusion layers (GDL). An analytical model was developed to estimate the losses in such structures and optimize channel design and current collector metallization. A detailed comparison was made between two different designs: pin structures and channel structures. A variety of micro fuel cells with variations of design parameters were tested to verify the model. As a result, micro fuel cell fabrication can be optimized in terms of cell performance and production costs. A maximum power density of 160 mW/cm² has been achieved with the GDL-less design and a current collector pitch of 400 mum with commercial membrane electrode assemblies.