(220a) Performance Evaluation of a Hybrid Hydrogen-Vanadium Reversible Fuel Cell

Hybrid hydrogen-vanadium reversible fuel cells offer a feasible solution for storing electrical energy from the grid or directly from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. In this presentation, hydrogen-vanadium reversible fuel cells are tested using a Pt/C hydrogen electrode, carbon vanadium electrode and interdigitated flow fields at both electrodes. Vanadium electrolyte flow rate is varied to study its effect on mass transport performance. Two types of vanadium electrodes are explored, a single layer of high surface area carbon nanotube (CNT) and three layers of nitric acid-treated carbon paper. Finally, four types of Nafion and two types of electrospun Nafion/PVDF single-fiber blend membranes are examined to determine the effect of membrane type and thickness on fuel cell charge and discharge performance.

Acknowledgement

The work presented was partially funded by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. EFRI-1038234.