Modeling and optimization of high temperature proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells

Abstract

Although high-temperature proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells (HT-PEMECs) have been promising devices to store energy in recent years, the effect of certain parameters on their performance is still unclear. Therefore, a 2D multiphysics model is adopted to study the related processes of electrochemical reactions in an HT-PEMEC. The model is validated by comparison with electrochemical experimental data. Subsequently, the effects of applied voltage, anode water mass fraction, anode gas velocity, and cathode gas velocity on the multiphysics are studied, and the trends of efficiency and conversion rate are analyzed. Thermoneutral voltage is observed through a parametric study. Moreover, the maximum energy efficiency (54.5%) is obtained by optimizing the operating conditions. This study can be regarded as a foundation for the subsequent control and multi-objective optimization research.