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Future Development Trends of Proton Exchange Membrane
Under the guidance of the trend of thin fuel cell proton exchange membranes, domestic proton exchange membrane enterprises have also accelerated the industrialization process of thin and light proton exchange membranes, and some enterprises have made significant progress.
On January 11th, the developed "10 micron ultra-thin hydrogen fuel cell perfluoroproton membrane" was awarded the "Top Ten Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Achievements of 2023". Information shows that the company's 10 micron ultra-thin perfluoroproton membrane has improved chemical durability by 30% compared to similar products at home and abroad, with leading performance indicators. This achievement has been evaluated by downstream customers.
At present, the 10 micron fuel cell proton exchange membrane has passed some membrane electrode enterprise tests, and is currently undergoing durability and reliability verification for fuel cell system operation. If the relevant verification goes smoothly, the domestically produced 10 micron proton exchange membrane is expected to enter the stage of vehicle demonstration application in 2024.
Not only hydrogen energy is advancing in the direction of thin proton exchange membranes, but other domestic proton exchange membrane companies are also making efforts.
According to relevant parties, the thin proton exchange membrane developed by it mainly has two specifications of 6 microns and 9 microns, using double-layer reinforcement technology to ensure the compressive strength and durability of the membrane. Currently, these two products have been verified and tested by foreign customers.
The trend towards "lightweight" proton exchange membranes is a market-oriented choice under the requirements of cost reduction and efficiency improvement in fuel cells. However, this does not mean that lightweight proton exchange membranes can adapt to all application scenarios. It also depends on the specific practical application conditions, and the thickness needs to be selected according to different limiting conditions.
Compared to others, thin proton exchange membranes are more suitable for stacks with high instantaneous power. In addition to cost reduction, customers place more emphasis on improving the volume to power ratio of the stack. "The technical director of a domestic membrane electrode enterprise stated that thin proton exchange membranes are more suitable for the fuel cell passenger vehicle market.
In fact, the current Chinese fuel cell vehicle market is still dominated by commercial vehicles, and hydrogen commercial vehicles place more emphasis on durability, which makes the performance of proton exchange membranes in terms of compressive strength and durability more important. For example, hydrogen powered heavy-duty trucks, which currently have a strong market share, are more concerned about the durability and reliability of fuel cells under heavy load conditions.
Overall, the trend of thinning led by 8-micron proton exchange membranes is beneficial for understanding the cost reduction and efficiency improvement of the fuel cell industry chain, and also has the significance of urging domestic proton exchange membrane enterprises to accelerate technological iteration. However, it has not yet reached the level of changing the entire proton exchange membrane market pattern. The path of thinning domestically produced proton exchange membranes has already begun, and we still need to give customers more confidence in durability and reliability.