Technical and Commercial Challenges of Proton-Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells

Abed Alaswad, Abdelnasir Omran, Jose Ricardo Sodre, Tabbi Wilberforce, Gianmichelle Pignatelli, Michele Dassisti, Ahmad Baroutaji and Abdul Ghani Olabi
Additional contact information
Abed Alaswad: College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Abdelnasir Omran: College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Jose Ricardo Sodre: College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Tabbi Wilberforce: College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Gianmichelle Pignatelli: Department of Mechanics, Mathematics & Management, University of Bari, Piazza Umberto I, 1, 70121 Bari BA, Italy
Michele Dassisti: Department of Mechanics, Mathematics & Management, University of Bari, Piazza Umberto I, 1, 70121 Bari BA, Italy
Ahmad Baroutaji: School of Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, UK
Abdul Ghani Olabi: Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, UAE

Energies, 2020, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: This review critically evaluates the latest trends in fuel cell development for portable and stationary fuel cell applications and their integration into the automotive industry. Fast start-up, high efficiency, no toxic emissions into the atmosphere and good modularity are the key advantages of fuel cell applications. Despite the merits associated with fuel cells, the high cost of the technology remains a key factor impeding its widespread commercialization. Therefore, this review presents detailed information into the best operating conditions that yield maximum fuel cell performance. The paper recommends future research geared towards robust fuel cell geometry designs, as this determines the cell losses, and material characterization of the various cell components. When this is done properly, it will support a total reduction in the cost of the cell which in effect will reduce the total cost of the system. Despite the strides made by the fuel cell research community, there is a need for public sensitization as some people have reservations regarding the safety of the technology. This hurdle can be overcome if there is a well-documented risk assessment, which also needs to be considered in future research activities.

Keywords: fuel cell; optimization; efficiency; automotive industry; electric vehicles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/1/144/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/1/144/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2020:i:1:p:144-:d:470170

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().