h2

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC)

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) generate electricity through an electrochemical process using hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen is fed into the anode, undergoing a reaction that splits it into protons and electrons. These protons pass through the solid polymer membrane (electrolyte) to the cathode, while the electrons pass through an external circuit, producing an electric current. At the cathode, the protons recombine with the electrons in the presence of oxygen to produce water as a byproduct. Hence, PEMFCs efficiently produce clean electricity, provided the hydrogen fuel is produced from renewable energy sources. A schematic of the PEMFC technology is illustrated in Figure X. The main advantages of PEMFCs lie in their quick start-up ability, compact design for space constrained applications, high power density, low operating temperatures, and the ability to utilise other hydrogen rich fuels. These advantages have made PEMFCs a key enabling technology in the transition to a fully green hydrogen economy, offering an efficient and low-emission power solution across a variety of applications, such as transport and power generation.

Increased demand for clean energy amid rising global temperatures and global government policies have spurred investments in PEMFCs, with the current PEMFC market sized at £3.58B, and a projected market size of £42.3B by 2035 (Global market insights). This substantial growth in the PEMFC market can be attributed to the shift of the automotive industry towards efficient fuel cell vehicles, technological advancements and successful pilot projects, and increased government incentives to promote hydrogen fuel cell technologies. Despite the high emission reduction potential of PEMFCs, several significant challenges need to be overcome to enable widespread deployment of PEMFC technology. Although efficient, PEMFCs are prone to degradation, severely limiting their durability and longevity in high demand applications, such as transport and power generation. PEMFCs are also reliant on precious metals to act as catalysts, which are expensive and a fast-depleting natural resource. Sensitivity to hydrogen purity is also a challenge, as PEMFCs require high purity hydrogen to avoid catalyst poisoning and degradation. These questions, along with high upfront costs and lack of automated manufacturing need to be addressed before PEMFCs can be introduced as the staple for clean hydrogen energy technology.

Figure X: Schematic of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell technology (Dharmalingam et al., 2019).

Challenges Revealed Through Literature Review

Metalic Bipolar Plates

  • High power density (> 5kW/L) metal boiler plate fuel cell stack
  • precision lightweight welding technology research and development for metal plates
  • material and coating technology development for corrosion resistant coatings (> 20,000 hours) on metal boiler plates

Graphite bipolar plates

  • High Power Density (>3kW/L) Graphite Bipolar Plate Fuel Cell Stack
  • High-Strength and High-Toughness Graphite Plate Processing Development

Composite bipolar plate

  • Ultra-thin (<1mm) plates
  • Key Formulation and Moulding Process Development for Composite Bipolar Plates with High Conductivity, Bending Resistance, and Corrosion Resistance

Catalyst

  • Large-Scale Preparation of Novel Anode Anti-Reverse Electrode Additives and Investigation into the Anti-Reverse Electrode Mechanism
  • Key Techniques for Uniform Macro-Scale Production of Platinum-Based Catalysts

Membrane

  • Structurally controllable, high molecular weight PFSA resin
  • High water retention and thermally stable proton exchange membrane suitable for high temperature and low humidity operation

Gas diffusion layer

  • Preparation Processes for High-Flux Gas Diffusion Layers
  • Development for Gas Diffusion Layers Suitable for Low-Pressure and Low-Humidity Operations

Membrane Electrode Assembly

    • Lack of high stability and high dispersion catalyst slurry
    • Membrane electrode high-precision coating technology and high-throughput assembly process technology
    • High-throughput consistent quality inspection of membrane electrodes and engineering packaging technology and process
  • Structural design and engineering preparation technology of ultra-low platinum long-life surface self-humidifying membrane electrode
  • High-Efficiency Extended-Range Fuel Cell Stack
  • High-Reliability Fuel Cell Stack without External Humidification
  • High-Uniformity and Long-Life Fuel Cell Stack
  • Relatively High-Strength Materials for Fuel Cell Packaging
  • High-Efficiency Extended-Range Fuel Cell Stack
  • High-Reliability Fuel Cell Stack without External Humidification
  • High-Uniformity and Long-Life Fuel Cell Stack
  • Relatively High-Strength Materials for Fuel Cell Packaging

Academic Capability Mapping

pemfc-word-cloud

Word cloud

The word-cloud of the primary and secondary keywords is presented for the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) technology. These keywords were used as the input to Scopus for the purpose of the Academic Capability Mapping. The analysis underscores key research areas like electrocatalysis and gas diffusion layers.

Documents by Country

The number of papers published worldwide pertaining to Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) since the year 2000, divided into three decades. Only the top 10 countries are displayed. The UK is number 9 in PEMFC research globally. While the PEMFC exhibits the highest potential for electrolytic hydrogen production, UK academic research in the field is significantly lacking.



Documents by Author (2000 – 2025)

Prominent UK academics and their affiliation is showcased. The y-axis represents the H-index of the authors, while the x-axis illustrates the number of papers published. It can be clearly seen that a majority of the UK’s top researchers are not competitive against global researchers in the field of PEMFC.

Documents by Affiliation

The number of papers published by affiliation in the UK since the year 2000 are showcased. University College London leads the way with the most publications, closely followed by Loughborough University. The figure specifically highlights the top 10 UK institutions in the field of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, providing a definite ranking list of universities with excellent expertise in the PEMFC technology.


Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) – Delphi Survey Analysis

Participant Identifiers


Industry Collaboration


Confidence Level


Country Affiliation

Key Performance Indicators

Key technical target predictions were provided by the participants, expected to be achieved by 2030.


Stack and System


Membrane


Membrane Electrode Assembly


Electro-Catalyst

Challenges

The participants were provided with several options and were asked to rank these options from 0 (least critical) to 6 (most critical).


Polymer Electrolyte


Membrane Electrode Assembly


Mass Production


Gas Diffusion Layer


Catalyst Layer

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System Integration

  • Balancing intermittent renewable electricity generation
  • Peak load regulation
  • Emergency power
  • Micro-grid
  • Combined cooling, heat and power supply system
  • Power generation system using waste hydrogen
  • Tri-generation systems
  • Hydrogen supply and transportation
  • Electrolysers
  • Hydrogen production from water, methanol, and ammonia
  • Long-term hydrogen storage systems
  • Energy management
  • Dynamic load response
  • System safety
  • Storage and utilisation of hot water