New technique could make fuel cell production cheaper

University researchers are developing ways to produce fuel cells at a fraction of the current cost by using microfabrication rather than traditional manufacturing processes.

"We arrived at a system that works and uses steps that are very similar to those used to make microelectronic devices," says Levi Thompson, professor of chemical engineering and leader of the research team working on the technology.

Microfabrication is the creation of physical structures, devices or composite materials whose component parts are sized around 1 micrometer. Microelectronics power a huge range of consumer goods, from greeting cards to hand-held computers.

"One could envisage being able to modify an existing semiconductor or microelectronics fabrication plant to produce fuel cells," Thompson says.

The high cost to build fuel cells is one of the biggest impediments to their commercialization, he said. Lowering production cost is critical to being able to use the technology in real-world applications such as hand-held electronics, and eventually vehicles, including the cars we drive every day.

Traditionally, fuel cells are built similarly to a car, with pieces manufactured separately and then assembled. But there is high variability, and the process is costly and time consuming.

Thompson's research group is making proton exchange membrane fuel cells—which are the leading candidates to replace batteries in hand-held electronics and vehicles—using modern electronics microfabrication processes. Instead of assembling the separate parts, the fuel cells are made by "growing" layers upon layers, the same way microelectronic devices currently are made.

Using these lower-cost manufacturing methods, combined with less expensive materials, the scientists hope to reduce the cost of fuel cells from nearly $10,000 per kilowatt to less than $1,000 per kilowatt.

At this lower cost, fuel cells would be competitive with lithium ion batteries, the power supply for many portable electronic devices, including cell phones, Thompson says.

"Manufacturers should be able to reduce costs in the same way that costs for microelectronics have been reduced," he says.

U-M research on using microfabrication to make fuel cells began about two-and-a-half years ago, Thompson says. The next step is to generate prototypes for third-party evaluation. The first market will be for portable electronic devices, but the goal is to someday use fuel cells in automobiles.

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