Video#1 - Fabrication of an automotive MEA for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

“Working steps during the preparation of an automotive membrane electrode assembly starting with a carbon-based Pt catalyst used in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell”

Within the GAIA project, the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) jointly recorded a video clip about the most relevant working steps during the fabrication of an automotive membrane electrode assembly (MEA) for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells.

The team at TUB, whose focus within GAIA is the development of advanced electrocatalysts, illustrates in this movie the various steps in catalyst synthesis and in catalyst screening via the rotating disc electrode (RDE) technique. The TUM team, focusing on catalyst integration into MEAs and diagnosing MEA performance losses, shows in this movie the various steps involved in MEA preparation and in MEA testing/diagnostics in small-active-area single-cell PEM fuel cells.

The detailed sections of the video are given below:

• TUB:
  • Catalyst synthesis – 00:18 min
  • Ink preparation for RDE – 01:30 min
  • RDE measurement – 02:09 min

• TUM:
  • Ink preparation for fuel cell electrodes – 02:33 min
  • Coating process of the catalyst’s ink – 03:24 min
  • Electrode cutting – 03:54 min
  • Preparation of the MEA – 04:00 min
  • Cell assembly of a laboratory scale fuel cell – 04:55 min
  • Fuel cell test station operation – 05:18 min