Strengthening hydrogen fuel cells for greater efficiency and durability

Hydrogen packs a major energy punch for its weight, making hydrogen fuel cells a promising option for heavy-duty transport. These devices convert hydrogen into electricity, producing only heat and water as byproducts.

However, the catalysts that drive this conversion process tend to degrade with prolonged operation. PhD student Spencer Lytle and his supervisor, Dr. Aimy Bazylak at the University of Toronto, have been exploring how to address this shortcoming in fuel cells to ready them for widespread adoption.

Like new cars, fuel cells benefit from a breaking-in period. Lytle and Bazylak used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan to better understand why this process – called electrochemical conditioning – improves fuel cell performance.

“The catalyst layer is the heart of the cell,” says Lytle. These thin layers sit on either side of a membrane. The researchers found that the conditioning process causes the materials in the catalyst layer to change from a random to a more organized arrangement, which they believe results in a more efficient electrochemical reaction. Their findings are published in the journal Advanced Science.

“After conditioning, the materials do tend to shift around and create a more favourable microstructure for enhanced performance,” says Lytle. Building this arrangement into the catalyst layers at the outset could reduce or eliminate the need for conditioning.

But getting a fuel cell off to a good start is only half the challenge. The researchers also used the CLS to examine how the temperatures that fuel cells encounter during normal use contribute to wear and tear. They discovered that the membrane layer – which is only 30 microns thick -- shrinks when it becomes hot and dry. By way of comparison, a regular piece of paper is 100 microns thick.

“As the membrane shrunk down, it tended to tear the catalyst layer,” says Lytle. The team suspects repeated changes in temperature and humidity could fatigue these structures during operation, reducing performance.

Now the researchers want to design catalyst layers that start with a favourable structure and retain it. The goal, Lytle says, is to make them “mechanically stable and strong while still serving their purpose of effectively converting hydrogen into electricity.” More durable materials could lower operating costs and help accelerate adoption and commercialization of fuel cells.

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Lytle, Spencer, Harsharaj B. Parmar, Jian Wang, Shohei Yamashita, and Aimy Bazylak. "Revealing the Nanoscale Morphology Changes of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Catalyst Layers due to Conditioning." Advanced Science (2026): e77009. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.77009

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