Brianne T. Scheidegger and Kenneth A. Burke

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Ian J. Jakupca

QinetiQ North America, Cleveland, Ohio

Non-Flow-Through Fuel Cell System Test Results 

and Demonstration on the SCARAB Rover

NASA/TM—2012-217693

August 2012
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Brianne T. Scheidegger and Kenneth A. Burke

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Ian J. Jakupca

QinetiQ North America, Cleveland, Ohio

Non-Flow-Through Fuel Cell System Test Results 

and Demonstration on the SCARAB Rover

NASA/TM—2012-217693

August 2012

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Prepared for the

45th Power Sources Conference

Las Vegas, Nevada, June 11–14, 2012
Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Ken Burke, Ian Jakupca, B.J. Chang, Don Johnson, Chris Garcia, and all those who helped 

make this demonstration a success. The author would also like to thank Dave Irimies and Carolyn Mercer for the 

support from the AMPS and OCT SPS projects.

Available from

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Available electronically at http://www.sti.nasa.gov

Trade names and trademarks are used in this report for identifi cation 

only. Their usage does not constitute an offi cial endorsement, 

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Space Administration.

Level of Review: This material has been technically reviewed by technical management. 
NASA/TM—2012-217693 1 

Non-Flow-Through Fuel Cell System Test Results and 

Demonstration on the SCARAB Rover 

Brianne T. Scheidegger and Kenneth A. Burke 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Glenn Research Center 

Cleveland, Ohio 44135 

Ian J. Jakupca 

QinetiQ North America 

Cleveland, Ohio 44135 

Abstract 

This paper describes the results of the demonstration of a 

non-flow-through PEM fuel cell as part of a power system on 

the SCARAB rover. A 16-cell non-flow-through fuel cell 

stack from Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc. was 

incorporated into a power system designed to act as a range 

extender by providing power to the rover’s hotel loads. This 

work represents the first attempt at a ground demonstration of 

this new technology aboard a mobile test platform. 

Development and demonstration were supported by the Office 

of the Chief Technologist’s Space Power Systems Project and 

the Advanced Exploration System Modular Power Systems 

Project. 

Introduction 

Over the past several years, NASA has been developing 

non-flow-through proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) fuel cell 

power systems for aerospace applications (Ref. 1). Due to the 

unique requirements of NASA missions, including operation 

with pure oxygen and improved water management in reduced 

and zero-gravity space environments, NASA has focused on 

modifying commercial fuel cell technology for NASA 

applications. Recent focus has been on the development of 

non-flow-through (NFT) fuel cell systems. As compared to a 

traditional flow-through system in which reactants are 

re-circulated to remove product water from the stack, a nonflow-through system is simplified by eliminating reactant 

recirculation. Reactants are dead-ended in the stack and 

product water is removed passively. This eliminates the need 

for pumps and other mechanical components typically needed 

to re-circulate reactants and remove water, and therefore 

results in a system with lower mass and volume and improved 

reliability. 

As part of NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems Modular 

Power Systems Project (AMPS), NFT fuel cell technology is 

being integrated onto ground system demonstration vehicles. 

This paper describes the testing performed on a 16-cell, 

132 Watt (W) NFT fuel cell stack from Infinity Fuel Cell and 

Hydrogen, Inc., and its demonstration as part of a fuel cell 

power system on Carnegie Mellon University’s SCARAB 

rover. The fuel cell power system was meant to be a “range 

extender” by providing power to the rover’s hotel loads, with 

the SCARAB providing a mobile platform for the first 

demonstration of a non-flow-through fuel cell system on a 

moving test vehicle. Demonstration of the NFT fuel cell 

power system on the SCARAB rover will help to identify 

integration issues requiring further development to facilitate 

advancing the technology readiness level. 

Technology Development Background 

NASA Glenn Research Center’s fuel cell development over 

recent years has focused on non-flow-through (NFT) PEM 

fuel cell technology. As opposed to traditional flow-through 

systems, NFT systems are simplified by eliminating pumps 

and mechanical components typically needed for reactant 

recirculation and product water removal. The result is a 

system with lower mass, volume and parasitic power, and 

increased reliability. For these reasons, non-flow-through 

technology was down-selected over flow-through technology 

in 2008 (Ref. 2).

Development of NFT stack technology began under the 

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and is 

currently funded by the Office of the Chief Technologist’s 

Space Power Systems (OCT SPS) Project. Infinity’s NFT 

technology eliminates the reactant recirculation of flowthrough systems by dead-ending reactants in the fuel cell 

stack. Reactant feeds are driven solely by tank pressures, 

therefore eliminating the need for pumps, and product water 

removal is achieved through internal cell wicking 

mechanisms, eliminating the need for external water 

separation. 

Experimental 

Demonstration Vehicle 

The test vehicle used in this demonstration of the NFT fuel 

cell technology was the SCARAB rover. The SCARAB rover 

was built by Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Robotic 

Institute to serve as a platform for experiments and field 

demonstrations, including previous experiments at the NASA 

Glenn Research Center (GRC). The rover has the ability to 

travel in both forward and backward directions while level or 

 
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2-217693 

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berecht, Mark

PEM Non-Flow

NASA Ap

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berecht, Mark

vantages of 

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borbital Resear

11. 

s. 

ns with the NF

ed, custom int

idics develope

ate external plu

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k and Jakupca,

w-Through Fu

pplications,” 

, Burke, Kenn

Non-Flow-Th

rospace Appli

rchers Confere

FT technology

terface plates 

d at GRC. Th

umbing to the f

nd volume. 

, Ian, “Develo

uel Cell System

NASA/TM—2

neth and Jakup

hrough Fuel 

ications,” Nex

ence, Orlando, 

y also plan to 

that contain 

hese interface 

fuel cell stack 

opment Status 

m Technology 

2011-217107, 

pca, Ian, “The 

Cell Power 

xt Generation 

FL, March 1, 
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Non-Flow-Through Fuel Cell System Test Results and Demonstration on the SCARAB 

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13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT

This paper describes the results of the demonstration of a non-flow-through PEM fuel cell as part of a power system on the SCARAB rover. 

A 16-cell non-flow-through fuel cell stack from Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc. was incorporated into a power system designed to act 

as a range extender by providing power to the rover’s hotel loads. This work represents the first attempt at a ground demonstration of this 

new technology aboard a mobile test platform. Development and demonstration were supported by the Office of the Chief Technologist’s 

Space Power Systems Project and the Advanced Exploration System Modular Power Systems Project.

15. SUBJECT TERMS

Lithium batteries; Storage batteries; Electric batteries; Electrochemical cells; Energy storage; Space missions; Spacecraft power 

supplies; Electric power supplies 

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