Hydrogen-peroxide-based fuel cells for space power systems

A fuel cell using nontraditional fuel and oxidizer is investigated in this research. H2O2 is used in this unique fuel cell directly at the cathode. Two types of reactant, namely, a gas-phase hydrogen and anaqueous NaBH4 solution,were used as fuel at the anode. The direct utilization of H2O2 and NaBH4 at the electrodes, as seen in experiments, results in >30% higher voltage output compared to the ordinary H-2/O-2 fuel cell. Further, the unique combination of NaBH4 and H2O2, both of which are in an aqueous form, has numerous advantages from an operational point of view. This design is inherently compact compared to other cells that use gas-phase reactants. Consequently, the peroxide-based fuel cell is well suited for space power applications where air is not available and a high-energy density fuel is essential.