www.AFCC-auto.com

Challenges and Opportunities for Sealant

Manufacturers in UV Chemistries.Oct 18, 2016

Daniel Ramrus, PhD.

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• AFCC background and program path

• What is a fuel cell?

• Sealing history

• New seal process

• Seal Material Requirements

• New Adhesives

• Adhesive Material Requirements

• Closing

Contents

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Who is AFCC?Established in 2008, AFCC is a Canada based joint venture between Daimler AG and Ford Motor Company developing hydrogen fuel cell modules for automotive applications.

229 Employees

98 Master’s Degrees and Ph.D.’s

980 Fuel cell patent families invented or accessible through Daimler-Ford partnership

3000 Person-years’ FC experience

16 University research collaborations

Largest fuel cell development / test / validation operation

in the world.

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OEM Partnership Structure

50.1% 49.9%Shareholder

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Fuel cells are a Strategic Pillar at the Automotive OEMs as they Allow for

Zero Emission Driving with Long Distance. Multi Billion Dollar Investment

to Establish Technology.

Long Distance Suburb/Rural City

Fuel Cell Electric

Gas Hybrid

Plug-In/Range Extender

Combustion Engine

Battery Electric

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Main Purpose of Next Generation Stacks is to initiate then grow market

Gen 4 CFCP

2023 Gen 5

2028 Gen 6

Limited Release to Prepare Market

Establish Market

Grow Market

Drive implementation of Infrastructure ( H2, Regulatory, Service etc…)

Initial Proof of Under Hood Package

Begin Maturation of Supply Chain

Real Assessment of Cost of Technology in Initial Manufacturing Concept

Improved Engineering Rules

Increase platform choice by increased underhood power

Cost reduction by Industrialization

Strengthened Supply Chain

Mature Engineering Rules

Higher power under hood power Full cross-section of products

Further Cost reduction by economies of scale

Mature Supply Chain

Refined Engineering Rules

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Gen 4 customer satisfaction in

comparison to today’s ICEs :

• Safety

• Reliability

• Performance

• Package

• Convenience

• Price

• Lifetime

• Emissions

BACKGROUND

Present Technology Capability Status

GENERATION 5 TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY

Targeted Stack

Improvements

Cost (4X)

Increased

Volumetric Power

Density (2X)

Increased Longevity

(125%)

Fuel Efficiency

(110%)

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BACKGROUND

Cost Prognosis

future

generation

(100,000)

current

generation

(1,000)

economies of scale

high-volume manufacturing

industrialization,

supplier development

co

st o

f p

ow

etr

ain

technology

Fuel Cell Vehicle Hybrid

GENERATION 6 TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY

A key objective in Gen

5 is to capture the

lessons learned from

industrialization

activities into the

design.

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What are Fuel Cells?

Benefits

• Zero emission - end product is just water and electricity

• Oil independence through use of hydrogen

• Efficiency twice as high as internal combustion engine

• Comfort of pure electrical driving

• Driving pleasure – electric motors deliver high launch torque

~400 plates and electrodes are stacked in series to make an automotive fuel cell

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•AFCC will typically design a principal part to learn about the design rules

•2nd step is to apply those rules to a full size fuel cell plate

AFCC design process

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Historically we have used a silicone material with the following attributes:

• Two component silicone

• Heat cure

• Injection molded parts which cure in the mold

• Seals are 1000-1300µm high and ~1.8m long across 6 ports and an active area seal

• Low compression set

• 6000 hrs durability requirement at an average temperature of 70°C with temps has high as 95°C

• Seal is exposed to glycol, water, hydrogen, air, and humidified gasses

• Challenges:

• Diffusion rates through the seal are important- low diffusion rates are required

• For silicone to meet the diffusivity requirement we need multiple silicone bumps which increases reaction load

and consumes space

• Heat cure isn’t fast enough for future programs

Previous Materials

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We are looking for our next seal material and process…

Low injection and cure times (<10 sec cure times, unless cure can occur in a separate

piece of equipment)

Low tolerance seals (stdev of <10µm)

Low compression set

Low cost

Acceptable diffusion rates (silicone - blends will be considered)

Must pass durability requirements

Future materials and processes

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What we think we want…

Uncured Sealant

Fuel Cell Plate

Transparent Mold

Uncured Sealant

1) Load plate into mold

2) Close mold and inject

3) LED Cure3) De molding

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• No deformation/expansion of plastic mold due to heat (CTE mismatches are

eliminated)

• Low energy consumption

• Simplified process setup because the material isn’t curing in a hot mold

• Lower capital investment (no LIM, just a few injection units)

• Lower overhead costs due to smaller equipment

• Low pressure injection unlikely to break/deform fuel cell plates

• Low space consumption near seal to allow for shutoff

• Loading of the part, injection, cure, and de-molding all happen at different stations in

process

• Adhesion to plastics like polycarbonate is usually lower than a metal mold

• No cool down time

Oct 18, 2016

Main benefits of LED cure system

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After ex-situ testing in air, water/glycol at 95°C we are looking for minimal changes in the

properties in the tables above (1000 hrs testing).

We will also look at sealant performance at -25, 23, 90°C

Desired Mechanical Properties (Elastomeric Sealant)Elong

ation

Tensile

Strength

Shore A Compression

set

Cure Time Yield Tg H2 Gas

Permeability

UV/LED

Cure

Candidate

>300% >2.5MPa 35-55 <20% (ASTM

395B)

<10 sec per

step

5σ <-100°C ~7.6x10-15

Mol·m/m2·s·Pa

Viscosity

(uncured)

Surface

Tack

Outgassing

UV/LED Cure

Candidate

~300,000-700,000

CPs

Low Low

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Potential Materials:

Polyisobutylene (PIB)

Flouroelastomer

Low Permeation Silicone

EPDM (too slow, compression molding

process may damage plates)

Polyurethane (too slow, mechanical

properties insufficient)

Natural Rubber (too slow, compression

molding process may damage plates)

Blended materials?

UV Cure Molding Suppliers:

Experience with UV molding

Willing to work with AFCC during

prototyping

AFCC needs to own the process

We are looking for partners to develop both materials and the process

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Seal on plastic frame design

Injection Molded seal material (light or heat cure)

Light cure sealant or epoxy (LED light can penetrate through film)

Carbon or metal plate substrate

Sealant or epoxy- Seal on Frame approach

Plate

Plate Membrane

Electrode

AssemblyCarbon Plate

Metal Plate

Adhesive/sealant

Replace with donut pic

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LED cure through the frame

Heat cure is also possible

Depositing adhesive through screen printing

Sealant or epoxy- Seal on Plate design

Carbon Plate

Metal Plate

Adhesive/Sealant

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Deposition process TBD (screen print, dispense, roller or other)

After ex-situ testing in air, water/glycol at 95°C we are looking for minimal changes in the

properties in the tables above (1000 hrs testing).

We will also look at epoxy performance at -25, 23, 90°C

Desired Mechanical Properties (Epoxy)Elong

ation

Tensile

Strength

Peel

Strength

Tensile

Strength

Cure Time Yield Tg H2 Gas

Permeability

UV/LED

Cure

Candidate

>5% >5MPa >1.5N/

mm

>10MPa <10 sec per

step

5σ >100°C ~7.6x10-15

Mol·m/m2·s·Pa

Viscosity

(uncured)

Surface

Tack

Outgassing Shelf Life

UV/LED Cure

Candidate

~10,000-100,000

CPs

Low Low >12months

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20AFCC-Internal Information

Fuel Cell Vehicle Experience

11.9 Million kilometers of Fuel

Cell Vehicle Experience

15x

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The Future is in Our Hands

F800 Fuel Cell Research Vehicle