Liquid elastomer moulding aids fuel cell development

Federal-Mogul's proprietary Liquid Elastomer Molding (LEM) technology offers innovative solution in fuel cell development

A leading global supplier of powertrain, chassis and safety technologies, Federal-Mogul Corporation has developed an innovative gasket technology to assist in-fuel cell development for energy-efficient vehicles. Referred to as Federal-Mogul's patented Liquid Elastomer Moulding (LEM) technology, the same is used in the manufacture of gaskets. Constructed with small engineered elastomeric beads moulded onto thin carriers that provide superior sealing performance while significantly reducing the size and weight of each fuel cell stack, compared to other moulded sealing technologies, each LEM gasket can be 0.3-0.5 mm thick, whereas the conventional moulded gasket measures at least double that.

While hydrogen fuel cell development dates back to the 1830s, mass production of fuel cells has been hampered by issues such as size, cost, infrastructure and packaging. Federal-Mogul's LEM proprietary technology assists fuel cell manufacturers in overcoming some of these challenges. Currently, Federal-Mogul is working with a major Tier One supplier of fuel cells to deliver an innovative gasket design which addresses weight and packaging challenges.

A typical fuel cell stack comprises of several hundred fuel cells; each cell contains an ion exchange membrane and bipolar plates. An electrochemical reaction takes place on the surface of these membranes to combine hydrogen with oxygen releasing electrical energy and water as a byproduct. As a result, each membrane must be sealed from the other layers and from the external environment. Each fuel cell stack requires hundreds of bipolar plates and membrane elements which need to be sealed, thereby requiring hundreds of gaskets, adding length and weight to each fuel cell stack.

Federal-Mogul's patented LEM gasket technology is ideal to address this challenge. In fact, LEM technology has been demonstrated to provide superior sealing performance with a gasket that is estimated to be at least half of the thickness, or size, of other gaskets. Additionally, the LEM technology offers the potential to directly incorporate the gasket into the bipolar plates offering further reduction in assembly complexity.

"Federal-Mogul's LEM gasket provides a unique sealing technology, offering one of the smallest sealing cross-sections and lowest load to seal in the industry," says Gerard Chochoy, senior vice president, Federal-Mogul Powertrain Sealing and Bearings. "Our sealing technology can contribute to a more optimized fuel cell package and reduced weight which can support fuel cell technology to become more widely accepted."