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Southwest Research Institute

Edward Albert Bass

John S Campbell

Christopher Alan Sharp

Craig M Wall

Narasi Sridhar

Michael Stewart

Alan Montemayor

Patrick Martin Merritt

A pre-spiral bundle for making a spiral wrapped cylindrical fuel cell and cylindrical fuel cells made using the pre-spiral bundle. The pre-spiral bundle comprises a sleeve defining a hydrogen flowpath. The sleeve comprises a proton exchange membrane encapsulating a substantially planar anode in ionic communication with a catalytically effective amount of a noble metal catalyst. A first hydrogen inlet comprises a first edge of the sleeve and a second hydrogen inlet comprises an opposed, substantially parallel edge of the sleeve. The hydrogen flowpath is defined by the anode. A cylindrical fuel cell is made by abutting a flexible, porous cathode to the sleeve in ionic communication with a noble metal catalyst and wrapping the sleeve and the cathode around one of the hydrogen inlets.

Spiral wrapped cylindrical proton exchange membrane fuel cells and

The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a cylindrical fuel cell comprising: providing an anode comprising a substantially solid cylindrical porous conductive matrix, said anode having an anode outer surface; intimately contacting a first proton exchange catalyst with said anode; conforming around and in intimate contact with said anode outer surface an inner polymer electrolyte membrane comprising a membrane outer surface and a membrane inner surface, wherein said membrane inner surface defines a tubular compartment and ionically communicates with said first proton exchange catalyst; providing a source of hydrogen gas in fluid communication with said first proton exchange catalyst; and, disposing around and in ionic communication with said membrane outer surface a cathode comprising a catalytically effective amount of a second proton exchange catalyst.

Cylindrical proton exchange membrane fuel cells and methods of making

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San Antonio, TX, United States of America

Edward Albert Bass