Evaluation of a 2.5 kWel automotive low temperature PEM fuel cell stack with extended operating temperature range up to 120 °C

•Design of a PFSA-based PEMFC stack with extended operating temperature range.•Proof-of-concept by 20 thermal cycles between 90 and 120 °C at constant dew point.•Fully reversible performance decrease of 21% during each thermal cycle.•1200 h long-term operation at typical automotive conditions.•End-of-life electrochemical characterization, to investigate degradation phenomena.

Nowadays, the operating temperature of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stacks is typically limited to 80 °C due to water management issues of membrane materials. In the present work, short-term operation at elevated temperatures up to 120 °C and long-term steady-state operation under automotive relevant conditions at 80 °C are examined using a 30-cell stack developed at DLR. The high temperature behavior is investigated by using temperature cycles between 90 and 120 °C without adjustment of the gases dew points, to simulate a short-period temperature increase, possibly caused by an extended power demand and/or limited heat removal. This galvanostatic test demonstrates a fully reversible performance decrease of 21 ± 1% during each thermal cycle. The irreversible degradation rate is about a factor of 6 higher compared to the one determined by the long-term test. The 1200-h test at 80 °C demonstrates linear stack voltage decay with acceptable degradation rate, apart from a malfunction of the air compressor, which results in increased catalyst degradation effects on individual cells. This interpretation is based on an end-of-life characterization, aimed to investigate catalyst, electrode and membrane degradation, by determining hydrogen crossover rates, high frequency resistances, electrochemically active surface areas and catalyst particle sizes.