Bramble aims for world’s lowest cost fuel cell tech
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Bramble Energy has detailed a path to creating the world’s lowest cost fuel cell using printed circuit board technology.
The UK-based company aims to produce fuel cell stack layers on a single PCB panel to bring the cost down to $100/kW, down from $1000/kW today. Economises of scale and using the existing PCB supply chain could push this down to $60 at 1.5 W/cm2 says the company.
Bramble has raised £35m (€40m) to develop the patented PCB-based technology to bring industry towards this goal through innovative design, materials selection, and manufacturing processes.
The core substrate of Bramble’s PCB fuel cell is a standard PCB laminate, which serves as a bipolar plate, providing structural integrity, gasketing, current collection, sealing and more. These standardised materials are widely used across the PCB industry, and this has resulted in significant economies of scale, accessible even at the smallest production and prototype values.
Unlike traditional technologies, Bramble’s PCB-based approach allows for high-volume production within existing facilities. The throughput of a UK prototyping PCB facility is in the region of 250 panels per day. Larger facilities will typically handle 25,000 panels per day. High-volume facilities also work with larger panel sizes, which are more cost-effective and allow further freedom of design. PCB factories worldwide adhere to manufacturing standards such as ISO9001, ensuring consistent quality and production capacity.
The PCB fuel cell stack is in early phase testing and in-work through its UK supply chain, with short stack testing of the technology planned later this year. Full stack testing is expected in Q2 2024.
“Industries are in desperate need of attainable, sustainable, clean energy solutions, so our mission at Bramble Energy is removing the biggest barriers to hydrogen adoption,” said Dr Tom Mason, Bramble Energy co-founder and CEO.
“With high cost hindering the hydrogen fuel cell industry for years, this whitepaper demonstrates how our printed circuit board technology can deliver fuel cells at an achievable cost and the speed at which it be realised compared to existing technology. We hope this paper will provide industries from mobility to energy storage the encouragement for the technology to reach mass adoption as quickly as possible, and as a result, begin decarbonising immediately.”
Bramble Energy’s digitally tooled fuel cell design enables the production of stacks in various sizes and power outputs, allowing customers to control their own supply chain. Through joint development agreements (JDAs), Bramble collaborates with customers to develop customised designs that can then manufacture the products using PCB factories within their existing supply chain.
Bramble PCB fuel cell white paper
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