CISTEM : construction of improved HT-PEM MEAs and stacks for long term stable modular CHP units

The vision of the CISTEM project is to develop a new fuel cell (FC) based CHP technology, which is suitable for fitting into large scale peak shaving systems in relation to wind mills, natural gas and SMART grid applications. The technology should be integrated with localized power/heat production in order to utilize the heat from the FC via district heating and should deliver an electrical output of up to 100kW. Additionally the CHP system should be fuel flexible by use of natural gas or use of hydrogen and oxygen which can be provided by electrolysis. This gives the additional opportunity to store electrical energy in case of net overproduction by production of hydrogen and oxygen for use in the CHP system and gives an additional performance boost for the fuel cell. The main idea of the project is a combined development of fuel cell technology and CHP system design. This gives the opportunity to develop an ideal new fuel cell technology for the special requirements of a CHP system in relation to efficiency, costs and lifetime. On the other hand the CHP system development can take into account the special advantages and disadvantages of the new fuel cell technology to realize an optimal system design.