I’m constantly re-creating a version of this tool every few years when I design fuel cells and flow batteries, so I decided to make a free, user-friendly public version. It’s a simple Excel spreadsheet that can quickly and easily iterate different fuel cell designs, and to understand test results. For example, it can:

• Calculate what reactant flow rate is needed to feed a stack adequately, and how much blower parasitic power that flow will cost
• Calculate what coolant flow rate is needed to keep the stack temperature stable
• Estimate humidification and predict exhaust gas water vapor content (this is my favorite as it strongly affects water balance and condenser design, and it’s not a straightforward calculation.)

It’s not a full-blown microscopic model or CFD simulation, but it’s simpler to use and it deals with heat, mass balance, and electrical power. Can be extended to electrolyzers, flow batteries, and metal-air batteries.

Please contact us for a download password or see our free downloads page.