Abstract: A miniaturized H₂/air self-breathing proton exchange membrane fuel cell(μPEMFC) was designed and fabricated with 1 cm² active area. All the basic parts of a conventional H₂/air PEMFC were incorporated in a smaller and simpler package. The electrodes of the μPEMFC were constructed on silicon wafer substrates by means of standard micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) techniques. The obtained results show that the peak power density of a single cell has exceeded 110 mW/cm² when it was operated in ambient atmosphere at 20 ℃. Furthermore, the cells can yield over 400 W/L specific power density.

Key words: Miniature proton exchange membrane fuel cell(μPEMFC), Self-breathing, Micro-electromechanical system(MEMS)