Thermoplastic fuel cell cuts energy cost.

A prototype of the first fuel cell made entirely of engineering thermoplastics, an advance said to cut the device's cost by at least 50% versus metals and thermosets, was recently unveiled by Ticona, Florence, Ky. The proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell consists of injection molded bipolar plates of Ticona's Vectra liquid-crystal polymer and end plates of its Fortron PPS. Both LCP and PPS withstand the aggressive media in fuel cells and remain dimensionally stable at temperatures up to 200 C.

This design reportedly drops the cost/kw of electricity to about $1050, compared with $4000 when aluminum, gold-coated stainless steel, graphite, or thermoset/graphite blends are used. The new cell is a major step toward meeting the European Union's target cost of $665/kw by 2010.

The LCP bipolar plates, which contain 85% powdered carbon, were molded by SGL Carbon Group, Meitingen, Germany, on a specially-modified Krauss-Maffei injection press. With a cycle time of 30 sec, the plates can be produced in volume without secondary machining and finishing. The fuel cell has a polymer membrane made of poly-benzimidazole (PBI) from Celanese Advanced Materials, Charlotte, N.C. The membrane assembly is being developed by Pemeas, a Celanese spin-off in Murray Hill, N.J. Ticona: [phone] * PTDirect: 688RF