Field Testing of a PEM Fuel Cell in an Integrated Power System

For the past 12 years, the Schatz Energy Research Center (SERC) has operated the Schatz Solar Hydrogen Project (SSHP). SSHP is a stand-alone renewable energy system that uses hydrogen as the energy storage medium and a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell as the regeneration technology [1,2]. Recently, a new 36-cell, 140 cm2 PEM fuel cell was installed at SSHP. We report operating results, cell voltage decay rates, and general utility of the fuel cell in providing power in this integrated system.