The FC350 Fuel Cell Monitor is designed to measure the electrochemical impedance of operating fuel cells at high current levels. The FC350 consists of a Digital Controller, an Interface, and FC350 Software working in conjunction with an Electronic Load.

The FC350 employs the Electronic Load to sink the current from the fuel cell. The sinusoidal current signal from the FC350, operating in galvanostatic EIS mode, modulates the Electronic Load, which, in turn, modulates the fuel cell output. The current signal from the Load is output to the current input channel of the FC350. The voltage of the fuel cell or stack is measured directly by the FC350 at the voltage input channel. The FC350 processes these signals to calculate the impedance.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy can identify problems that limit a fuel cell’s efficiency, it can help optimize a cell, and it can determine anodic and cathodic process mechanisms. EIS can be useful in the selection of membranes and the study of membrane impact on performance. Clever placement of reference electrodes in a cell may allow an analyst to test subsections of the cell, such as the anode, the cathode, and the electrolyte separately.

The FC350 can reliably measure fuel cell impedances as low as 500 nano-ohms! EIS can be measured over a frequency range of 10 microHz – 10 kHz (the upper limit is determined by the Load).