Understanding what happens inside hydrogen fuel cells as they age is key to making zero-emission buses that can compete with incumbent diesel technology on both price and performance. Ballard Power Systems Inc. will soon have the answer with help from scientists at Simon Fraser University (SFU) who are installing powerful new CT scanners capable of "seeing" the structural changes occurring inside a fuel cell during everyday bus conditions.

"With this project, we'll be able to take an operating fuel cell, put it into this instrument, image it, and then put it back, and be able to do this periodically throughout its lifetime, so we can see how the structure changes," says Shanna Knights. "We can then use the knowledge gained to come up with improved designs, manufacturing processes, operating conditions and other strategies to produce a more durable, better performing and lower cost fuel cell for buses and our other market segments like materials handling, and backup power systems."

Ballard Power Systems has teamed up with SFU researcher Dr. Erik Kjeang on two complementary Automotive Partnership Canada (APC) projects to enhance the durability and reliability of heavy duty bus fuel cells. Kjeang, who got his start in 2008 as a research engineer at Ballard, is now one of the world's leading experts on fuel cells. He describes the skills he honed in industry as "absolutely essential for the productivity and success of both APC projects".

Hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles offer a clean, quiet and low-emission solution for transportation systems worldwide. Ballard's proprietary technology is powering forklift fleets for companies like Walmart Canada and BMW, as well as transit buses in Whistler BC with further rollouts planned for cities in Europe, China, India and the United States.

The Burnaby, BC company is working on several fronts to drive down the capital cost and improve the durability of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), where the actual chemical reactions occur inside a fuel cell. APC is contributing $2.85 million to this new four-year $6.5-million project, which is establishing a fuel cell visualization research lab like no other globally.

The new lab, which will be operational by next spring, will help Ballard meet its 2015 target for extending the life of this fuel cell to at least 20,000 hours, making it comparable to that of a diesel engine. To get there, engineers need a detailed scientific understanding of the material properties and physiochemical processes that degrade fuel cells over thousands of hours of actual operating conditions – something that is currently very difficult and costly to analyze. That's where the nano X-ray computed tomography (NXCT) equipment being installed at SFU will help.

Similar to the CT scans that "see" inside the human body, researchers will use these even higher resolution scanners to create cross-sectional 3-D images, at the nanometre scale, to understand how fuel cell components and materials degrade over weeks, months and years of operation. And, unlike existing visualization methods, the NXCT uses low energy X-ray beams that do not damage the sample, making it possible to capture internal processes in the time domain.

It's a more efficient and accurate test that saves both time and money. If successful, it could also result in new made-in-Canada testing standards for the larger fuel cell industry.

"While Ballard has done extensive research on the fundamental mechanisms occurring inside a fuel cell, this project will – for the first time – provide Ballard with an ability to actually "see" inside the fuel cell micro-structure. It will help the company maintain its leadership in fuel cell durability and reliability," says Kjeang.

The new visualization facility will be used exclusively by Ballard and SFU throughout the four years of the project, which will significantly accelerate the research. Most large-scale research facilities at universities have to be shared among different researchers and projects.

"Fuel cells for transportation are at the verge of commercialization so our company could not have taken on a project of this scale without APC support," says Knights. "It's a unique opportunity to have dedicated access to highly specialized equipment and access to university experts who are focused on Ballard's needs."