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KN-4DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERNAL REFORMING METHANOL FUELCELL: CONCEPT, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIESAvgouropoulos G. 1 , Ioannides T. 1 , Kallitsis J.K. 1,2,3 , Neophytides S. 1,31 FORTH/ICE-HT, Stadiou str., Platani P.O. Box 1414, Patras GR-26504 (Greece),E-mail: geoavg@iceht.forth.gr2 Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, GR-26504 Patras (Greece)3 Advent Technologies SA, Patras Science Park, GR-26504 (Greece)IntroductionThough H 2 is being considered as the optimum fuel for fuel cells, its low volumeenergy density renders its use difficult in mobile or portable applications. The directand efficient processing of methanol has been considered as a potential alternative[1]. Recent advances in the development of polymer electrolyte membranes(e.g. PBI, Advent TPS) [1] and electrocatalysts, allow the operation of PEMFCs at~180°C with a reformate gas containing up to 2% CO.Internal Reforming Methanol Fuel Cell1000150HAl PlateCurrentCollectorHH COHHHHOHOOCOGraphitePlateHT-PolymerFlowfieldElectrolyteMembranemethanol& waterH +H +H +H +carbon dioxide& waterCuMnO/Cu foam catalystAnode: Pt/CCathode: Pt/CCH 3 OH+H 2 O→3H 2 +CO 2H 2 →2H + +2e -0.5O 2 +2H + +2e - →H 2 OoxygenOOHHwaterOVoltage, mV800600FEED 1FEED 2400FEED 36.5% CH 3OH (FEED 1)20013.0% CH 3OH (FEED 2)20.0% CH 3OH (FEED 3)755025H 2O/CH 3OH = 1.50T cell= 200 o C00 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400Current density, mA/cm 2Fig. 1: Integrated reformed methanol HT-PEMFC configuration and polarization curves.125100Power density, mW/cm 2Concept of Internal Reforming Methanol HT-PEM Fuel Cell (IRMFC)The complexity of the balance of plant of a fuel cell-fuel processor unit challengesthe design and development of compact and user friendly fuel cell power systems. Inresponse to this challenge, we propose the compact system [1,2] depicted in Fig. 1.The main concept is the incorporation of a methanol reforming catalyst into theanodic compartment of the fuel cell, so that methanol reforming takes place insidethe fuel cell stack (Internal Reforming). The proposed fuel cell comprises: (i) A hightemperature membrane electrode assembly (HT-MEA), being able to operate at28