Direct ammonia alkaline anion-exchange membrane fuel cells

On-board hydrogen storage remains a big challenge for fuel cell powered electric vehicles. Ammonia contains 17.6 wt % hydrogen and has been recognized as a potential on-board vehicular hydrogen media. Direct ammonia fuel cells are interesting because they do not require an ammonia cracking process to produce hydrogen, whereas conventional proton exchange membrane fuel cells based on acidic membranes such as Nafion are not compatible with NH3. Here we report the operation of direct ammonia alkaline anion-exchange fuel cells based on low cost membrane and non-noble catalysts with potential use in transportation and other applications.