SERC is located adjacent to the Humboldt State University campus. We are currently in the process of building a new facility on campus, scheduled for occupation by 2010. Our new facility will provide additional opportunities and resources with which to expand our renewable energy research and development programs.
SERC manufactures many of its fuel cell components in-house. Shown here is machinist Ray Glover.
The Schatz Energy Research Center's fuel cell laboratory provides premier research and development capabilities for PEM fuel cells. SERC is a leader among university-led fuel cell development laboratories. We design, fabricate, and test fuel cells and integrate fuel cell stacks into power systems for a variety of uses: small, portable remote power systems for locations far from the electric grid, vehicle power systems, and education/demonstration packages. SERC's fuel cell systems have proven to be among the most reliable and efficient in the world.
We have developed and patented a low-pressure fuel cell stack design that yields a high net system efficiency. We are finding new ways to reduce the volume and weight of our systems and to simplify their design. Our fuel cell stacks are engineered to withstand extreme environmental conditions. They have operated successfully in the heat of Palm Desert, California, and in the cold of Fairbanks, Alaska.
SERC's Fuel Cell Laboratory is equipped with one high-power test station and one multi-station test stand used to develop and test PEM fuel cells and related subsystems. Each test station is custom designed and built in-house. Each test station’s data acquisition and control system provides for multiple analog and digital inputs and outputs.
Former student research assistants David Carter and Nicole Campbell operate the SERC multi-station test stand.
The multi-station test stand allows the simultaneous testing of up to four fuel cells under tightly controlled and repeatable conditions. Each of the four stations in the MTS is capable of testing a fuel cell at up to 225 Watts at stack temperatures up to 65°C. A single computer controls and monitors all four stations via backplanes supporting digital and analog inputs and outputs. The MTS is a fully automated PC-based system with LabView software. The system will run unattended for extended testing and provide active control of fuel cell current density, inlet air flow rate and stoichiometry, and fuel cell temperature independently on each station. The data acquisition system also measures and records fuel cell current, up to four cell voltages, hydrogen and air flow rates, fuel cell temperature and other parameters. The software permits automated collection of polarization curves and provides for programmable dynamic load cycles. The system hardware provides precise control of inlet hydrogen pressure and circulation reservoir water level, and incorporates software independent safety interlocks for hydrogen leaks and smoke detection. On each station, pressure gauges display inlet air, hydrogen and water pressures and an indicator light signals satisfactory water conductivity. The MTS features distributed monitoring using TCPIP internet connectivity protocol which allows password-protected access to data from each test stand on any computer in our laboratory or on the internet.
SERC-developed software 1) displays current system data, 2) records operational data in several different selectable formats, 3) controls the air, hydrogen, water, and power conditioning subsystems, and the electronic load, and 4) automatically shuts down the system if fire, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, or other hazardous conditions are detected.
Graduate Student Research Assistants test the performance of the Schatz Solar Hydrogen Project's photovoltaic array.
The Schatz Solar Hydrogen Project was initiated in the fall of 1989, with the goal of demonstrating that hydrogen can be an effective way to store solar energy. Located about 15 miles north of SERC's main facility, this full-time, automatic energy system takes advantage of the solar hydrogen cycle to power the air compressor that aerates the aquaria at Humboldt State University's Telonicher Marine Laboratory in Trinidad, California.
Professor Arne Jacobson and Graduate Student Research Assistants Andrea Allen and Peter Johnstone test photovoltaic modules atop "solar beach".
SERC has been involved in research related to the quality and performance of solar photovoltaic modules and systems for 20 years. The Center is equipped with an outdoor testing laboratory that includes facilities for testing the performance of photovoltaic modules and solar water heating collectors. SERC has extensive experience measuring and modeling the current-voltage (IV) characteristics of crystalline and amorphous silicon photovoltaic technologies over a range of module and array sizes. Our Center is also equipped to measure the long term energy yield of photovoltaic modules.
In addition, SERC supports operation of a solar radiation monitoring station that collects information about global and diffuse solar radiation on a horizontal plane. The monitoring station utilizes a pair of Eppley Precision Spectral Pyranometers (PSP), an Eppley Shadow Band, and a Campbell Scientific data logger to collect data.
Professor Arne Jacobson and Graduate Student Research Assistants Ranjit Deshmukh and Stephen Kullman evaulate the performance of LED-based lighting products.
SERC is engaged in work to evaluate the potential of off-grid lighting based on white light emitting diode (LED) technology to serve as a cost effective, reliable substitute for kerosene lighting in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This work involves the development and use of a set of low cost methods for evaluating the performance of LED-based lighting products. SERC’s lighting lab is equipped with instruments and data acquisition systems to measure system parameters related to lighting intensity, lighting uniformity, battery performance, charging system performance (including solar, grid, and mechanical charging systems), and product durability. SERC is also equipped to carry out detailed field measurements related to off-grid lighting in rural areas of developing countries, and its staff has experience using survey, focus group, and interview based field methods.
