IDEAL Cell: Progress beyond the state of the art

The progress beyond the state of the art in IDEAL Cell is essentially linked to a significant increase in fuel cell power efficiency. The novel design proposed in the project offers unique solutions to existing problems, which can not be overcome by the current state of the art. The introduction of three independent chambers for hydrogen, for oxygen and for water evacuation approximates the fuel cell to an internal combustion engine and thus ensures optimized operating conditions:

• The fuel is not diluted;
• Water does not inhibit the catalytic activity of the electrodes;
• No gas counter-flow is needed to sweep water away from electrodes;
• No highly corrosive high temperature oxygenized water is produced (as it is at the cathode side of a PCFC system);
• Every element of the cell plays a singular role, and therefore can be fully optimized for one specific purpose;
• The oxygen and hydrogen chambers are approximately "closed", which offers the possibility of applying pressure independently on both sides in order to optimize the operating conditions;
• The heat of the water evaporating from the central membrane is easily recovered via a heat exchange system, since it is not diluted with gases;
• The highly purified water produced in the central membrane can be re-used for hydrogen production by electrolysis or in a vapour-reforming stage.