Compact Reliable Robust (CORE) Power System for Auxiliary Power Applications

Under support from TARDEC, an effort to develop a 10 kW_e compact reliable robust power system for combat-vehicle applications is well underway. This system operates on battlefield-spec JP-8 to provide silent auxiliary power for the vehicle. The reformer converts JP-8 into a hydrogen rich reformate. The power system combines the reformer with a High-Temperature PEM (HTPEM) fuel-cell stack that retains the quick startup time of a PEM fuel-cell stack while dramatically improving the tolerance to fuel impurities to levels closer to that of SOFC stacks. The paper covers the power system development with the emphasis on the 300-hour demonstration of the 10 kW_e reformer operating on JP-8 and its current integration with the fuel cell to produce the 10 kW_e power system for 1000 hour demonstration and delivery to TACOM.