Infraestructure and Services

Laboratory for the preparation and characterisation of materials and components: equipped with high-temperature treatment furnaces and gas atmosphere control, hydraulic presses, hot presses, centrifuge, ball mill, sieve, diamond-blade saw, polisher, rotavapor, lyophiliser, tape casting and screen printing machines. For the preparation of PEM electrodes, there is a computerised x-y stage system to which an aerograph or an innovative electrospray system may be attached.

Experimental techniques and equipment for characterisation: viscosimeter, dielectric measurement system, dilatometer and optical microscope, impedance spectroscopy, voltammetry, rotating disk electrode, mass spectrometry and quartz crystal microbalance, chemisorption, Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy, DRIFTS, EPR, TG-MS are available. Furthermore, laboratory have access to other techniques such us XRD, XPS, SEM, EDAX, chemical and textural analysis and to several Synchrotrons for XANES, EXAFS. 

Laboratory for evaluation of catalysis: equipped with tubular reactors for catalytic test in gas phase and a pilot plant designed for the integration and demonstration of a fuel reformer up to 10 kW, including reforming and hydrogen purification processes based on water gas shift reaction (WGS) and selective oxidation of CO (COPROX).

Fuel cell operation laboratory: equipped with six test stations for PEMFC to evaluate single cells or fuel cell modules (10 kW) and three test station for high temperature fuel cells (MCFC, SOFC). The test stations enable the monitoring and automatic control of fuel cell operation and gas chromatography is coupled on-line.

Laboratory for integrated systems: equipped with the electronic infrastructure for the development of control programs focused on the integration for power supply systems.


Technological Capabilities

  • Preparation of components and fuel cell modules: proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC).
  • Testing of fuel cell performance under real work conditions.
  • Development of fuel processor for hydrogen production.
  • Development of integrated systems for power generation.