The US Fuel Cell Council has published the first ever “Literature Survey of Fuel Cell Contaminants,” to serve as a ready-access data tool to the fuel cell industry and other interested groups.

The report features a summary of sources of contamination for water, hardware, and gas reactants, followed by more than 115 tables summarizing the government and commercial literature surveyed. The tables provide both the document title and a document number, for examination of the original data.

The report focuses upon the effects of contaminants on the performance and components of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, including direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), and components. The literature survey was conducted by the Advanced Materials and Processes Technology Information Analysis Center (AMPTIAC) for the US Fuel Cell Council Materials and Components Working Group.

“Because the durability and reliability of fuel cells are influenced by the effect of contaminants, we felt it was critical to make these data more accessible to the industry,” said US Fuel Cell Council Executive Director Robert Rose. “We are committed to fostering research and speeding commercialization of this important technology.”

The Literature Survey will be released for sale to the public in early-July 2004. For more information on USFCC, visit the web site at www.usfcc.com.