In late 2011 BCS Fuel cells was acquired by Fuel Cells Tec, itself a spin out of ;ogtime SBIR involved Lynntech. BCS Technology works on development of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells for operation without external humidification at higher temperatures and simplification of cell design in general. The firm has also developed the technology of self-humidified fuel cells - a technology offering a substantial improvement in the development of fuel cells. Both thin and thick membranes can be used in building self-humidified fuel cell stacks. Water management in fuel cells is a major problem that requires considerable improvement. The work done at BCS Technology eliminates the humidification part of the water management issue. Only the product water has to be removed from the stack. Since the reactants enter the fuel cell without carring extra water vapor, the fuel cell electrodes are less likely to get flooded. The water vapor that is used for humidification in a conventional fuel cell releases latent heat of condensation, contributing to the enthalpy of the fuel cell reaction. Thus the conventional fuel cell requires more cooling compared to a self-humidified fuel cell.
