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Hydrogen Technology Center: new tools for fuel cells research

New labs and instruments have been recently added to the CERIC open access offer in the field of fuel cells research. From the next call for proposals, users can apply for access to the Hydrogen Technology Center (HTC) facilities, located at the Charles University of Prague (Czech Republic).

HTC offers testing and analysing of the users-provided catalysts and cell components for water electrolysers and fuel cells, and in particular:

  • half-cell testing, to split complicated processes that occur in water electrolysers or fuel cells into individual reactions, which can be investigated separately with high electrochemical precision;
  • water electrolyser testing in cells, which allows a real-life simulation of the catalyst’s or cell components’ performance, and in which the single cell consists of a single membrane electrode assembly;
  • fuel cells testing, useful for assessing factors (such as uneven gas distribution, contact resistance, gas crossover, self-humidification performance, and electrode gas permeability) that significantly impact fuel cell operation but cannot be evaluated using other setups.
  • catalysts layer preparation (such as membranes and gas diffusion layers) to precisely control catalyst loading, catalyst active area, and distribution.

For more detailed information about the techniques and equipment available at this facility, please visit the HTC page.