FUEL CELL TESTING LEADS TO HARMONY

The fuel cell test facility at JRC Petten in the Netherlands is supporting European harmonisation efforts and international standardisation.

A fuel cell testing facility can be used to develop harmonised
testing procedures and methodologies applicable to fuel cell stacks and systems. It can provide direct comparisons between competing fuel cell technologies in terms of performance and operational characteristics, as explained here by Thomas Malkow, Georgios Tsotridis, Antonio Saturnio and Andreas Podias of the European Commission’s Institute for Energy at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Petten.

Background

Fuel cell technologies have the potential for high energy efficiencies, energy savings and significant emissions reductions in diverse applications ranging from micro and portable devices to combined heat and power (CHP), propulsion power and large-scale power generation.

Fuel cells are currently being introduced into the market, and are finding ever-increasing use in stationary and transport applications. Regulations, codes and standards (RCS) and their harmonisation – including test procedures, protocols and measurement methodologies – are of the utmost importance
to all market players, – such as manufacturers, component suppliers, distributors, customers and end-users – as well as policy makers, regulators and accreditation bodies.

Standardisation is indispensable for the smooth and widespread market introduction of a new product, since it provides a reliable and trustworthy basis of its safety and performance by allowing comparison with other products and technologies. Furthermore, in the long run, it usually lowers costs.

The task of developing harmonised fuel cell test procedures and methodologies should not be biased by national or business interests; thus, it should be entrusted to impartial bodies. The actual setting of standards remains the responsibility of organisations such as the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) working with the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), and the Inter national Organization for Standardization (ISO) working with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), through its Institute for Energy, has set up a versatile, large-scale, stateof- the-art fuel cell test facility (FCTEST) located at Petten in the Netherlands.* The facility was built to facilitate the validation and benchmarking of harmonised fuel cell test procedures, through experimental campaigns by participating in internationally organised ‘round-robin’ activities.

The compilation of already existing –and the further development of harmonised test procedures and methodologies – were initiated within the Institute for
Energy-operated, 55 partner strong Fuel Cell Testing & Standardization Thematic Network (FCTESTNET). This network
was funded under the EU’s fifth RTD Framework Programme (FP5).**

Validation and benchmarking test campaigns will be conducted within the framework of the Institute for Energy-coordinated FP6 successor project, Fuel Cell Testing, Safety & Quality Assurance (FCTESQA). Worldclass national laboratories from the European Union, North America, China, Japan and Korea are involved in this project. The Petten facility will play a pivotal role in the execution of the experimental campaigns. It will offer independent, unbiased and comprehensive testing and performance evaluation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), stacks and entire systems applications.

Goals and objectives

The purpose of the testing facility is to constitute an EC reference laboratory for fuel cell performance that is available to the scientific community and industry. The facility supports the development of RCS within the European Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Technology Platform (HFP, www.hfpeurope.org), and globally within the framework of the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE, www.iphe.net).

Furthermore, it will provide the opportunity for training and exchange of research fellows and scientists. In particular, it will contribute to:

• Studying the effect of environmental conditions (ambient temperature, relative humidity, shock and vibration) on fuel cell performance;
• Validation and evaluation of fuel cell models and simulations with respect to operating modes and characteristics at both system and component level;
• Provide training opportunities to interested parties.

Facility capabilities

The facility allows comprehensive testing and evaluation of PEMFC systems and components under conditions which
typically exist in stationary and transport applications. The electrical and environmental performance of fuel cells in offgrid
and grid-connected configuration is characterised over a wide power range, up to 100 kW. This includes steady-state and
transient response characteristics (startup, shutdown, emergency stop, load-following) typical for power demand in stationary and in propulsion and auxiliary power applications
for road, air and marine transportation (passenger cars, buses, trucks, trams, aircraft, boats and ships).

Fuel cells may be operated on hydrogen or simulated reformed gas from a variety of fuels. Continuous monitoring of system
emissions can be carried out using state-of-the-art, multi-component Fourier Transform Infra-Red and hydrogen mass
spectroscopy gas analysers. The facility allows testing under simulated environmental conditions over a wide range of relative humidity and ambient temperature.

In addition, the systems under test can be subjected to artificially generated and real-world shocks and vibrations, in sixdegrees-of-freedom.

This is accomplished by integration of the unique combination of a multi-axial vibration table housed in a walk-in climate chamber.

Furthermore, the facility is equipped with a state-of-the-art computerised test station for fail-safe, automated and unattended testing. A sophisticated safety system is in place to allow extended durability tests.

Facility characteristics

• Simulation of hydrogen gas feeds with controlled fuel impurities from different fuel origins;
• Accurate control of feed gas composition, humidity, pressure and temperature;
• Off-grid and grid-connected inverter operational mode with in-house electricity use;
• Programmable safety and process parameter and operation modes;
• Online analysis of feed gases and system emissions.

Fuel cell efficiency characterisation

• Performance characterisation in terms of power output, durability, reliability, safety and emissions in load-following
mode and dynamic changes of feedstock;
• Evaluation of heat-recovery capabilities of fuel cells and systems under various load scenarios under steadystate
and transients.

Fuel cell performance characterisation in simulated
environments

• Evaluation under controlled ambient temperature (–40°C to +60°C) and relative humidity (up to 95%) at steady state and with dynamic changes;
• Online evaluation under shock and vibration in all three translational and rotational axes, applied simultaneously for frequencies of up to 250 Hz;
• Remote test surveillance and real-time recording.

Environmental test system

The combination of the climate chamber and shaker table allows testing of fuel cells and fuel cell systems as well as other components.

The explosion-proof environmental chamber has an internal volume of 27 m3, with a cooling and heating capacity of 80
kW and 35 kW, respectively.

The corresponding rates are 2K/min at ±1K accuracy for 20 kW thermal loads. It is remotely and software-controlled.

The humidity- and temperature-resistant shaker table can carry payloads of more than 750 kg. With a reduced payload, it is capable of accelerations up to 11g with a dynamic force of 62 kN to perform horizontal and vertical displacements of up to
51 and 102 mm, respectively, at speeds of 96 cm/s.

The computerised system uses multichannel data acquisition and sophisticated software in combination with 1D and 3D high-precision accelerometers to monitor and control the table motion, and to visualise and analyse in real time the dynamic response of the table-mounted test device.

Further information

* European Commission: European Fuel Cell and Hydrogen
Projects 1999–2002; Report EUR 20718; Office for Official Publications of the European Communities Luxembourg (2003), pp. 88–89; Available online at: ec.europa.eu/research/energy/
pdf/european_fc_and_h2_projects.pdf

** Idem, pp. 80–81.

Contact: For further information; email Georgios Tsotridis –
georgios.tsotridis@jrc.nl