Technical design and economic evaluation of a PEM fuel cell system

The main objectives of this study are to develop the economic models and their characterization trends for the common unit processes and utilities in the fuel cell system. In this study, a proton electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system is taken as a case study. The overall system consists of five major units, namely auto-thermal reformer (ATR), water gas shift reactor (WGS), membrane, pressure swing adsorber (PSA) and fuel cell stack. Besides that, the process utilities like compressor, heat exchanger, water adsorber are also included in the system. From the result, it is determined that the specific cost of a PEM fuel cell stack is about US$ 500 per kW, while the specific manufacturing and capital investment costs are in the range of US$ 1200 per kW and US$ 2900 per kW, respectively. Besides that the electricity cost is calculated as US$ 0.04 kWh. The results also prove that the cost of PEM fuel cell system is comparable with other conventional internal engine.