India's National Chemical Laboratory Optimizes Fuel Cells via Modeling

Ashish Lele, National Chemical Laboratory, India

Inefficient and potentially harmful diesel generators are still the prevailing method of decentralized power generation for telecommunications in urban and rural India. Researchers at the National Chemical Laboratory are investigating proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, which are strong candidates for this industry because of their cleanliness, compatibility, and efficiency exceeding 30% (with work underway to further increase this value). Using multiphysics modeling and simulation, the researchers are working to determine an optimal configuration of fuel cell properties that yields maximum efficiency and performance.