Stack development

We have obtained extensive stack design expertise by our own stack development programme. We use this knowledge to assist companies in setting up their stack production. Making a stack is a necessary step towards building a system. And it is in the system, in real life applications, that we wish to test the products of our material development activities. So, apart from developing cell materials, we also develop stacks. Such as our 5 kW stack, designed to be scaled up to 10 kW as well. ECN does not intend to become a commercial supplier of stacks. Nevertheless, all products of our R&D activities, including stacks, can be made available to third parties. That is, as long as these activities are not part of an exclusive arrangement

ECN stack development activities cover the power range from 0.5 kW to 25 kW. Here too, obtaining cheap and light materials is one of the issues. In many cases we use carbon composite plates. But we have significant activities on metal plates too. In fact, ECN was the first to show that steel can be used as an alternative to heavy, brittle and thick graphite or carbon compounds. Under development is a stack based on corrugated thin sheet metal. ECN has developed a proprietary technique for in-situ measurement of the contact resistance during PEMFC operation. This technique has been of paramount importance in the quest for a corrosion resistant material, that does not introduce the high surface resistance typical for stainless steel types.