High-Pressure Electrochemical Lift Pump

The lunar environment presents significant challenges for energy storage due to extreme temperature fluctuations and prolonged night cycles. Given that RFCs are being considered for use in the harsh lunar environment, several design challenges must be overcome. The system must be capable of handling extreme temperature variations, as well as providing high specific energy storage (at least 320Wh/kg), with enhanced reliability/lifetime. These performance metrics can be combined to evaluate an RFC’s round-trip efficiency (RTE), which may be the most relevant form of comparison. During EZ operation, the hydrogen and oxygen are stored in pressurized tanks, with storage capacity increasing proportionally to pressure. Since reactant storage largely impact the overall mass and volume of an RFC system, high-pressure storage is preferred to maximize specific energy and energy density. This can be achieved in two ways: compressing the product gas after electrolysis or compressing the feed water and operating the EZ at high pressure. Lynntech’s focus on compressing water simplifies the system by requiring only one pump, whereas gas compression would necessitate separate pumps for hydrogen and oxygen. Therefore, Lynntech’s High-pressure Electrochemical Lift Pump (HELP) is a critical component for lunar RFC systems, as it ensures a continuous water feed to the EZ while providing the necessary pressure for efficient high-pressure gas storage, ultimately enhancing round-trip efficiency. Additionally, Lynntech should be able to meet the 10,000hour operational life and thermal vacuum environment requirements as it’s the same fundamental electrochemical technology as the Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer stack.