% IMPORTANT: The following is UTF-8 encoded.  This means that in the presence
% of non-ASCII characters, it will not work with BibTeX 0.99 or older.
% Instead, you should use an up-to-date BibTeX implementation like “bibtex8” or
% “biber”.

@INPROCEEDINGS{Wolf:1051653,
      author       = {Wolf, Niklas and Javed, Ali and Treutlein, Leander and
                      Kungl, Hans and Jodat, Eva and Karl, André and Eichel,
                      Rüdiger-A.},
      title        = {{I}mpact of {M}embrane {E}lectrode {A}ssembly
                      {C}onditioning on the {P}erformance of {P}roton {E}xchange
                      {M}embrane {E}lectrolytic {C}ells: {I}nsights into
                      {S}hort-{T}erm and {L}ong-{T}erm {O}peration},
      issn         = {2151-2043},
      reportid     = {FZJ-2026-00562},
      year         = {2025},
      abstract     = {Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis is a promising
                      technology for efficient hydrogen production, utilizing the
                      electrolysis of water to generate hydrogen. The performance
                      of Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolytic Cells (PEMECs) is
                      strongly influenced by the conditioning of the Membrane
                      Electrode Assembly (MEA), which serves as a critical step in
                      preparing the MEA for optimal functionality. The
                      conditioning process includes two steps. The pre-treatment,
                      which involves hydrating and chemically or thermally
                      activating the MEA, followed by a break-in procedure that
                      stabilizes the electrochemical performance during initial
                      operation.The conditioning strategies explored in this study
                      include ex-situ and in-situ hydration, acidic treatment, and
                      elevated temperature conditions during the pre-treatment
                      step. The impact of pre-treatment conditions; mechanical,
                      chemical, and thermal on the short-term electrochemical
                      performance of Nafion™ N115-based MEAs highlight the
                      importance of both the pre-treatment and break-in procedures
                      in establishing consistent cell operation.The results show
                      that in-situ pre-treatment allows the membrane to swell
                      under constrained conditions post-assembly, significantly
                      enhances the contact area between the MEA and the porous
                      transport layers, reducing contact resistance and improving
                      overall PEMEC performance. Moreover, acidic treatment and
                      elevated temperature conditions further contribute to
                      improved proton conductivity, leading to reduced Ohmic
                      resistance and cell voltage.While the break-in procedure
                      stabilizes the cell’s electrochemical performance in the
                      short term, further investigation is conducted to evaluate
                      how these conditioning protocols impact the long-term
                      degradation mechanisms. This study presents preliminary
                      findings on the durability of conditioned MEAs under
                      continuous operation and explores how optimizing the
                      conditioning process could contribute to enhanced long-term
                      performance, paving the way for more reliable and efficient
                      PEMEC systems in industrial applications.},
      month         = {May},
      date          = {2025-05-18},
      organization  = {247th ECS Meeting, Montreal, Québec
                       (Kanada), 18 May 2025 - 22 May 2025},
      subtyp        = {Other},
      cin          = {IET-1},
      ddc          = {540},
      cid          = {I:(DE-Juel1)IET-1-20110218},
      pnm          = {1231 - Electrochemistry for Hydrogen (POF4-123) / HITEC -
                      Helmholtz Interdisciplinary Doctoral Training in Energy and
                      Climate Research (HITEC) (HITEC-20170406)},
      pid          = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-1231 / G:(DE-Juel1)HITEC-20170406},
      typ          = {PUB:(DE-HGF)6},
      doi          = {10.1149/MA2025-01381941mtgabs},
      url          = {https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1051653},
}