Regenerative Fuel Cell System Breadboard for Lunar Night Survival at TRL 4+ (2019–2022)

Clara Venture Labs AS (CVL), previously Prototech AS, led the development of a closed-cycle hydrogen-oxygen Regenerative Fuel Cell System (RFCS) for Lunar Night Survival. A breadboard model was successfully designed, built, and tested, operating for three Lunar day/night charge/discharge cycles. The project was supported by subcontractors Air Liquide Advanced Technologies (ALaT) and Airbus. The breadboard utilized a PEM fuel cell (FC) stack (ALaT) delivering 60–200 watts of electrical power and heat during a total of 415 hours of discharge. The high-pressure PEM water electrolyser stack (CVL) delivered hydrogen and oxygen gases to storage tanks at 50-100 bar, using external electric power that emulated solar panel output. The life test of the breadboard lasted around 800 hours. Summary of results and lessons learned is presented. TRL 4+ was reached by the RFCS for Lunar night survival after the testing was completed.