When the Benicewicz Group, founded by USC Professor Brian Benicewicz, partnered with the world's leading chemical company, they developed fuel cell technology that's literally helping power the military.

In conjunction with BASF, Dr. Benicewicz and his group developed the core polymer membrane technology for the lightweight fuel cells that are used in devices that help power both military and commercial applications. The fuel cells operate on a hydrogen mixure produced from reformed methanol that can be simply refueled by "hot-swapping" the methanol fuel cartridge. The PBI membrane technology operates at high temperatures (>150 degrees Celsius), allows for smaller and lighter power sources, and provides robust operation with a high tolerance to fuel impurities.

Today, BASF manufactures and sells the PBI-based MEA to companies like UltraCell, who use it to create mobile power devices purchased by both the U.S. military and commercial consumers.

Learn more about research from The Benicewicz Group.