Promoting and Advancing Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies : The Open Fuel Cell Design Platform as an Open Hardware Initiative for Research, Development, and Education

The "Open Fuel Cell" (OFC) is an open hardware initiative of the Chairs of Energy Technology and Manufacturing Technology at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Center ZBT.We documented the manufacturing of a passive proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) using easily accessible materials and instruments, such as 3D-printers and computer numerical control (CNC) milling machines.Materials and construction protocols can be downloaded at https://openfuelcell.org/.The OFC can be operated with a commercially available small hydrogen storage container.While the OFC can be used to operate low power electrical consumers (LED light strips, small fan) the main purpose is to offer a low-cost experimental environment to explore the electrochemical correlations of a PEMFC as well as the engineering involved in the construction and design of such a cell and thereby to spark the fascination for hydrogen technologies.However, we are confronted not just with inquiries from schools but also from universities of applied sciences.Their funding often does not allow to purchase standard fuel cell test rigs and they intend to use the OFC both in research and teaching.We present the OFC as an open science platform on which schools, universities, maker spaces and businesses can build upon.We hope to have launched an open hardware system that grows through community contributions, propelling a fast transition to a carbon-free energy system.