Applied EnergyPub Date : 2025-03-27DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125784
Julian Keutz, Jan Hendrik Kopp
{"title":"Assessing the impact of take-or-pay rates in long-term contracts for hydrogen imports on a decarbonized European energy system under weather variability","authors":"Julian Keutz, Jan Hendrik Kopp","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125784","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125784","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate-neutral hydrogen is set to play a crucial role in decarbonizing Europe by 2050. Yet, assumptions on hydrogen imports vary widely across existing studies—ranging from fully flexible to fixed import volumes — often neglecting the modalities of future hydrogen trade such as long-term contracts (LTC). This paper addresses this gap by investigating the implications of Take-or-Pay (TOP) rates in hydrogen LTCs on a decarbonized European energy system. We employ a numerical model that optimizes generation capacity, storage and infrastructure investment, and dispatch decisions for the European power and hydrogen sector in 2050, explicitly incorporating TOP obligations in hydrogen LTCs. Our findings show that varying TOP-rates induce significant shifts in cost-minimal infrastructure requirements of the energy system. These shifts underscore the necessity to account for the degree of import flexibility in planning assessments for future energy systems relying on hydrogen imports. Additionally, we show that reduced import flexibility imposed by high TOP rates is balanced predominantly by increased hydrogen storage and withdrawal capacity while import capacity decreases. By simulating dispatch decisions for 35 weather years for the energy systems planned with representative weather, we find that systems planned with high TOP-rates exhibit a lower reliability when weather characteristics during operation differ from the planning stage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125784"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Applied EnergyPub Date : 2025-03-27DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125742
Ashish Kumar Karmaker , Bjorn Sturmberg , Sam Behrens , Hemanshu Roy Pota
{"title":"Customer-centric meso-level planning for electric vehicle charger distribution","authors":"Ashish Kumar Karmaker , Bjorn Sturmberg , Sam Behrens , Hemanshu Roy Pota","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125742","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125742","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents a framework for the meso-level planning of electric vehicle (EV) charger distribution, addressing customer-level plugin uncertainties and regional variations. To bridge the gap between nationwide macro-level targets and localized micro-level plans, a meso-level approach is essential, considering regional diversity, market dynamics, and customer-centric factors. To address these limitations in meso-level planning, this paper proposes a customer-segmentation approach coupled with a probabilistic Monte Carlo Simulation to identify charger requirements in the cities across the Australian capital. This paper employs a K-means clustering algorithm to classify EV customers, leveraging prioritized features derived from a Random Forest Classifier based on available models in regional markets. Regional uncertainties in EV plug-in behaviors are collected from Australian scenarios to capture the inherent variability in charging patterns and accurately reflect the local demographics influencing EV adoption and usage. The results indicate the need for installing 1239 regular and 235 fast-charging ports, with a projected 29.53 % increase in charging ports by 2040 due to population and vehicle sales growth. Additionally, comparing with existing reports reveals that neglecting customer plugin behaviors and vehicle types can lead to an inaccurate estimation of charger requirements, resulting in significant investment losses. The findings underscore the importance of incorporating customer segmentation and regional variations into EV infrastructure planning to optimize resource allocation without costly mismatches.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125742"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143714419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Applied EnergyPub Date : 2025-03-27DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125765
Lingkang Jin , Mosè Rossi , Andrea Monforti Ferrario , Francesca Mennilli , Gabriele Comodi
{"title":"Designing hybrid energy storage systems for steady green hydrogen production in residential areas: A GIS-based framework","authors":"Lingkang Jin , Mosè Rossi , Andrea Monforti Ferrario , Francesca Mennilli , Gabriele Comodi","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125765","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125765","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The constant operation of water electrolyzers prevents degradation caused by operational fluctuations, preserving performance. This study introduces a MILP-based design framework for hybrid energy storage systems, integrating photovoltaic systems, Lithium-ion batteries, and alkaline electrolyzers operating at constant rated conditions. The framework targets energy-independent residential users, fully meeting electrical loads while incorporating spatial analysis via a GIS-based management module. Applied to the Italian context, the framework uses historical data for residential end-users with <span><math><mn>1.5</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow><mn>3.0</mn></math></span> kW electrical loads. The results indicate photovoltaic systems sized between <span><math><mrow><mn>3.0</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow><mn>4.5</mn></math></span> kW, Lithium-ion batteries with <span><math><mn>6.0</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow><mn>7.0</mn></math></span> kWh capacity, and alkaline electrolyzers sized at <span><math><mn>100</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow><mn>260</mn></math></span> W for daily loads of <span><math><mn>2.8</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow><mn>6.0</mn></math></span> kWh. Lithium-ion batteries account for approximately <span><math><mn>60</mn><mspace></mspace><mi>%</mi></math></span> of the total system cost. A levelized hydrogen cost of <span><math><mn>12</mn><mrow><mo>−</mo></mrow><mn>19</mn></math></span> €/kg is required to cover the overall investment costs. Additionally, the system offers environmental benefits, with CO<sub>2</sub> emission reductions of approximately <span><math><mn>0.35</mn></math></span> to <span><math><mn>0.83</mn></math></span> tons per user annually.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125765"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143714565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Applied EnergyPub Date : 2025-03-26DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125727
Shengshi Wang , Jiakun Fang , Jianzhong Wu , Yongtu Liang , Xiaomeng Ai , Shichang Cui , Jingguan Liu , Yue Zhou , Wei Gan , Miao Li , Songli Zhao , Jinyu Wen
{"title":"Event-triggered security-constrained energy management scheme on shared transmission systems for renewable fuels and refined oil: Implementation and field tests in South China","authors":"Shengshi Wang , Jiakun Fang , Jianzhong Wu , Yongtu Liang , Xiaomeng Ai , Shichang Cui , Jingguan Liu , Yue Zhou , Wei Gan , Miao Li , Songli Zhao , Jinyu Wen","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125727","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125727","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper proposes an event-triggered security-constrained energy management scheme to accomplish digitalization and secure energy conservation in the emerging shared transmission systems for renewable fuels and refined oil (STS-RRs) during the energy transition. Specifically, a practical energy management model for STS-RRs, considering batch migration processes and multiple practical factors, is firstly proposed. Then, based on this model, the event-triggered optimal coordinated operation is introduced, leveraging on-site data measurements to achieve real-time energy management. In addition, a tailored coordination method is explored for optimal distributed dispatch of STS-RRs. To support secure operation, the nonlinear autoregressive exogenous network-based parameter estimator is also proposed, which adapts to the model and event-triggered operational methods with ultra-high accuracy. Synthetically, a digital twin-fusion smart energy supervision platform is implemented to simulate the actual system, to collect and store field data stably, to validate the proposed methodologies, and to evaluate the system efficiency. Simulations and field tests on real-world STS-RRs in South China are carried out, where secure operation is guaranteed. The results highlight a high fidelity of the digital twin, with practical modeling and extra-small mean absolute error for the proposed estimator, less than 0.045 MPa. Notably, the proposed scheme achieves a 3.37 % energy-saving rate in practice. This can lead to ten million kWh of electrical energy consumption reduction annually, equivalent to 6449.2 tons of carbon dioxide reduction for the studied STS-RRs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125727"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143697493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Applied EnergyPub Date : 2025-03-26DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125703
Tingkai Li , Jinqiang Liu , Adam Thelen , Ankush Kumar Mishra , Xiao-Guang Yang , Zhaoyu Wang , Chao Hu
{"title":"Coupling a capacity fade model with machine learning for early prediction of the battery capacity trajectory","authors":"Tingkai Li , Jinqiang Liu , Adam Thelen , Ankush Kumar Mishra , Xiao-Guang Yang , Zhaoyu Wang , Chao Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125703","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125703","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Early prediction of battery capacity degradation, including both the end of life and the entire degradation trajectory, can accelerate aging-focused manufacturing and design processes. However, most state-of-the-art research on early capacity trajectory prediction focuses on developing purely data-driven approaches to predict the capacity fade trajectory of cells, which sometimes leads to overconfident models that generalize poorly. This work investigates three methods of integrating empirical capacity fade models into a machine learning framework to improve the model’s accuracy and uncertainty calibration when generalizing beyond the training dataset. A critical element of our framework is the end-to-end optimization problem formulated to simultaneously fit an empirical capacity fade model to estimate the capacity trajectory and train a machine learning model to estimate the parameters of the empirical model using features from early-life data. The proposed end-to-end learning approach achieves prediction accuracies of less than 2 % mean absolute error for in-distribution test samples and less than 4 % mean absolute error for out-of-distribution samples using standard machine learning algorithms. Additionally, the end-to-end framework is extended to enable probabilistic predictions, demonstrating that the model uncertainty estimates are appropriately calibrated, even for out-of-distribution samples.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125703"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143705235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Applied EnergyPub Date : 2025-03-26DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125744
Changyang Guan , Junnian Wang , Tianhui Zheng , Qikai Wang , Wen Sun , Haisheng Wang
{"title":"Parameter optimization and multi-mode operation of a novel dual-motor coupling torque vectoring drive system for electric vehicles","authors":"Changyang Guan , Junnian Wang , Tianhui Zheng , Qikai Wang , Wen Sun , Haisheng Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125744","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125744","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electric vehicles (EVs) have developed rapidly in the past decade, with a heightened focus on the development of high-performance EVs in recent years. However, the contradiction between drive performance and efficiency of electric drive systems has not been adequately resolved. To provide a potential solution to this issue, a novel dual-motor coupling torque vectoring drive system (DCTVD) is proposed in this paper through exploring potentially optimal power coupling configurations of dual-motor drive units. Correspondingly, based on the multi-mode operation capability of the DCTVD, a parameter optimization method, a drive mode switching control strategy, and a torque vectoring control strategy are proposed and discussed in detail. After applying these methods and strategies, the energy-saving potential of the DCTVD is verified by simulation. Results under typical driving cycle tests indicate that the DCTVD, with the parameter optimization and drive mode switching control strategy, shows a significant energy-saving improvements compared to a traditional single-motor single-speed drive system. Additionally, results under turning conditions indicate that the DCTVD has an observable energy-saving effect under certain conditions with the torque vectoring control strategy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125744"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Applied EnergyPub Date : 2025-03-26DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125725
Ugne Potthoff , Tobias Brudermueller , Konstantin Hopf , Felix Wortmann
{"title":"Optimization of heating curves for heat pumps in operation: Outdoor temperature ranges for energy-efficient heating curve shifts","authors":"Ugne Potthoff , Tobias Brudermueller , Konstantin Hopf , Felix Wortmann","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125725","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125725","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the light of global sustainability efforts, heat pumps offer environmental benefits, but their complexity and potential misconfigurations often lead to homeowner dissatisfaction due to inaccurate heating and lower-than-expected efficiency. Among the most important and complex settings is the heating curve and yet there are no easy-to-use methods to optimize it after its initial set-up. This study aims to develop ready-to-use guidelines for optimizing the heating curve with energy-efficient adjustments that improve room comfort and prevent suboptimal user changes, all without requiring additional sensors like room thermostats. Based on interpretable linear models, estimated on 3995 air-to-water heat pumps, located in Central Europe, we select the least energy-intensive heating curve shift for each outdoor temperature, needed to meet room thermal comfort. We find that the standard parallel shift of the heating curve is only the optimal approach when the average outdoor temperature is between 2 <span><math><msup><mspace></mspace><mrow><mo>∘</mo></mrow></msup></math></span>C and 5 <span><math><msup><mspace></mspace><mrow><mo>∘</mo></mrow></msup></math></span>C. Outside this range, the heating curve should be moved at its starting or the endpoint. Simulation shows that by translating user input to the room controller with our proposed changes, 84.42 % of the heating curves can be improved, reducing the share of misconfigured heating curves from 24.01 % to 7.08 %. This leads to an average reduction in yearly energy consumption of 4.02 % and an increase in the seasonal coefficient of performance by 2.59 % on average. By introducing ready-to-use heating curve improvement guidelines, we aim to increase efficiency and confidence in heat pump technology, ensuring its adoption to meet carbon emission targets.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125725"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Applied EnergyPub Date : 2025-03-26DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125794
Chen Zhao , Yaru Han , Shuang Xing , Zhijun Deng , Kunxiang Liu , Wenchao Xiao
{"title":"Study on performance enhancement and modeling of air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell for different runner structure","authors":"Chen Zhao , Yaru Han , Shuang Xing , Zhijun Deng , Kunxiang Liu , Wenchao Xiao","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125794","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125794","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A long, rectangular shape is typically used to model the cathode runner of an air-cooled open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel (AO-PEMFC) cell in order to supply air and dissipate heat. It is true that modifications to the cathode runner structure can impact hydrothermal control, which consequently affects the cell's output performance. The present research put forward an enhanced design for a suction-type annular bipolar plate structure and devised a 3D non-isothermal model to explore the consequences of modifying the cathode runner structural parameters of annular bipolar plate on the cell's performance output as well as the internal dispersion of heat, water, and oxygen. In addition, three cathode runner configurations—straight runner/fan-shaped rib, fan-shaped runner/straight rib, and fan-shaped runner/fan-shaped rib—were designed and their effects examined. The findings showed that the fan-shaped runner/straight rib configuration displayed the best temperature control capability (Hot spot temperature at cathode side exit: 36.3 °C, average temperature at the center surface of the film: 302.4 K, uniformity inside the cathode flow channel: 99.8 %) and achieved the maximum power density (contact resistance: 0.098 Ω-cm<sup>2</sup>) at the same current density conditions (0.8 A/cm<sup>2</sup>). The performance of the straight runner/fan-shaped rib was marginally inferior to that of the fan-shaped runner/straight rib, while the fan-shaped runner/fan-shaped rib configuration presented the poorest performance. Owing to the interaction of high air velocity and high electro-osmotic resistance inside the cathode runner, the fan-shaped runner/fan-shaped rib bipolar plate (relative humidity: 82.2 %) was prone to water loss from the fuel cell membrane electrode, thereby having an impact on the cell performance. Conversely, the fan-shaped runner/straight rib setup (relative humidity: 46.2 %) manifested the most excellent performance and kept an optimal water content. Overall, the findings of this investigation can be used as a significant source of guidance for optimization direction of AO-PEMFC.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125794"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Applied EnergyPub Date : 2025-03-26DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125738
Hao Xie, Zhiying Song, Yayun Tang, Jie Ji
{"title":"Performance analysis of a novel CPV/T system with curved CIGS modules: Comparison with traditional flat modules","authors":"Hao Xie, Zhiying Song, Yayun Tang, Jie Ji","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125738","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125738","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Concentrating photovoltaic/thermal technology is a high-efficiency but low-cost approach for power generation and high-temperature heat extraction by utilizing solar energy. However, the high temperature, uneven light spot and temperature distribution are the core issues causing electrical efficiency degradation and cell damage, seriously affecting the reliability of the concentrating photovoltaic/thermal system. Although efforts have been made to address the problems by efficient cooling or concentrator improvement, the receivers are always crystalline silicon modules with flat surface. This is the first time to propose the novel concentrating photovoltaic/thermal system employing curved CIGS (CuIn<sub>x</sub>Ga<sub>1−x</sub>Se<sub>2</sub>) receiver. After particle swarm optimization, the standard deviation of local concentration ratio drops from 4.75 to 3.00. On the selected day, the illumination uniformity is optimized by 58.22 %, the maximum temperature difference drops from 24.9 °C to 14.79 °C, and the standard deviation of surface temperature is reduced from 5.61 °C to 2.71 °C, meaning the temperature uniformity is optimized by 51.69 %. With a smaller shading area, the curved receiver also saved 0.3 MJ solar energy, resulting in higher final water temperature at 87 °C. Although the reference efficiencies of CIGS at 16 % is lower than that of c-Si at 17.8 %, the proposed system still produces 4.3 % more electricity than traditional system and generates 6.8 % more electricity than the system with flat CIGS receiver. Over the whole day, the overall efficiency is 68.92 %.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125738"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143697491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Degradation behavior of ionomer in the cathode catalyst layer of polymer electrolyte fuel cells","authors":"Yan Xiao, Weibo Zheng, Jue Wang, Bing Li, Pingwen Ming, Cunman Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125759","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125759","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ensuring the durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks is crucial for their commercial viability. Dynamic loading conditions can significantly accelerate the aging of the fuel cell's catalyst layer (CL), and ionomers play a pivotal role in maintaining both proton transport performance and the durability of this layer. A 1 kW PEMFC stack was subjected to a rigorous 3000-h New European Driving Cycle accelerated stress test to assess the relationship between the evolution of ionomer characteristics and the loss of proton transport performance of the cell. Extensive analyses revealed that degradation within the CL occurs in both in-plane and through-plane directions. The rapid deterioration of ionomers is closely linked to the decline in performance of the membrane electrode assembly. Following degradation, we observed a reduction in the mechanical strength of the ionomers and deterioration of their chemical structure, with side chains degrading more significantly than the main chains. Moreover, the average thickness of the ionomer layer on the catalyst surface decreased, leading to reduced coverage of the catalyst. This study reveals how ionomer degradation contributes to the loss of proton transport networks and pore structures within the CL. These insights will provide a theoretical foundation for the design of more durable CL.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":246,"journal":{"name":"Applied Energy","volume":"389 ","pages":"Article 125759"},"PeriodicalIF":10.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143697490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}