“By putting our science to work, DuPont Fuel Cells is making consistent advances in the technology needed to make fuel cells a commercial reality in the near and long term,” said Richard Okine, director, DuPont Fuel Cells. “Our latest innovation, the Nafion® XL membrane, is a prime example because it enables a step change in membrane durability that approaches the automotive durability targets, moving us closer to making fuel cell vehicles a reality. 

DuPont Fuel Cells is also developing new, highly durable electrodes, that, when coupled with use of the new Nafion® XL membrane, should yield up to ten times longer lifetime over current membrane electrode assemblies.” 

DuPont™ Nafion® XL offers significantly enhanced membrane durability and mechanical strength. Comparison data shows a greater than 1.5 times increase in tensile strength and over 50 percent reduction in swell over the DuPont™ Nafion® NRE211 membrane. In addition, DuPont™ Nafion® XL demonstrates 30 times lower fluorine emission rates (FER) in open circuit voltage (OCV) and lifetime improvement of greater than 25 percent in the load and relative humidity cycling test. Significant lifetime improvement, coupled with lower FER was observed in the automotive drive cycle test with over 3,500 hours demonstrated in this accelerated lifetime test. These improvements are achieved while maintaining the voltage performance of DuPont™ Nafion® NRE211 membrane.

DuPont Fuel Cells is a technology and market development organization enabling the advancement of fuel cell technology and products with leading players in the industry. By driving the technology to make fuel cells a commercial reality in the near and long term, its mission is to become the leading global supplier of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell membranes and components, to power automobiles, electronics, and residences.