Closed-Loop Pure Oxygen Static Feed Fuel Cell for Lunar Missions

In order to address the NASA lunar mission, DESC proposes to develop a proton exchange membrane (PEM) closed-loop pure oxygen fuel cell for application to lunar surface exploration, building upon DESC's expertise and fundamental demonstrations in closely related technology. Building upon the recent NASA SBIR Phase II and Navy SBIR Phase I work, the static feed URFC hardware will be converted for primary fuel cell performance. The cell performance will be characterized with two or more membrane-electrode assembly configurations with a goal of achieving the highest efficiency. Sub-scale stacks will be tested for durability. Thermal modeling will be conducted to predict the level of heat removal required by scale-up stacks. Thermal management techniques will be investigated to permit effective scale-up.