10,000 h Record for DMFC System
Successful endurance test under real operating conditions
Endurance test of an energy supply system with direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) to drive a horizontal order picker.
In order to prove the performance and aging stability, an endurance test was started in August 2010 with an energy system with direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) developed and created in IEK-3. The system is loaded under realistic application conditions of a horizontal order picker in three-shift operation.
After more than one year of operation (10,000 hours), the achievable cell voltage has dropped by 80 - 130 mV due to operational aging processes. In the worst operating case at 100 mA/cm², this corresponds to an aging rate of 2.5 % per 1,000 hours. This doubled the target of 5,000 operating hours required for commercialization.
