This project focused on the development of computational simulation tools for hydrogen fuel cells. Fuel cells efficiently generate electrical power from hydrogen fuel without pollution.
Dr. Brian Wetton , University of British Columbia
This project focused on the development of computational simulation tools for hydrogen fuel cells. Fuel cells efficiently generate electrical power from hydrogen fuel without pollution. Fuel cells are seen as an integral part of the future, post-oil energy economy, which Canada is playing a lead role in developing. Over a ten year period, the MMSC research team worked in collaboration with its industrial partner, Ballard Power Systems. Their role was the development of accurate mathematical models and efficient computational schemes to simulate fuel cell operation. The computational approach allows insight into what happens inside an operating fuel cell under a wide variety of conditions that would be hard to measure experimentally. Using simulations, it is possible to quickly and inexpensively check many different device configurations and operating conditions, which greatly improves the design process. A major achievement of the team is a comprehensive simulation tool which incorporates many important coupled phenomena in operating fuel cell stacks. The team supervised many students and PDFs that went on to success in research careers in academia and industry. This project ended in 2008.