Dans le cadre de ces travaux, l’objectif fixé était de développer des polymères aromatiques possédant des propriétés de conduction protonique. Pour y parvenir des motifs de type acide sulfonique ont été introduits le long des chaînes macromoléculaires. La méthodologie de synthèse de ces polymères qui a été choisie, consistait à polymériser des précurseurs contenant dans leur structure un motif perfluoroalkyle sulfoné. Quatre précurseurs originaux ont ainsi été initialement synthétisés. Différents polymères aromatiques ont été préparés à partir de ces précurseurs en faisant varier le taux de séquences perfluoroalkyles sulfonées. Ces polymères ont ensuite été mis en oeuvre sous la forme de membranes denses selon un procédé de coulée évaporation. A partir de ces membranes, des études de gonflement à l’eau et de conductivité ionique ont été réalisées. / As part of this work, the objective was to develop aromatic polymers with proton conduction properties. To achieve this, the sulfonic acid motifs were introduced along the macromolecular chains. The methodology of synthesis of these polymers was to polymerise the precursor containing in their structure a perfluoroalkyl sulfone moieties. Four novel precursors have been initially synthesized. Different aromatic polymers were prepared from these precursors by varying the rate of perfluoroalkyl sulfonated sequences. These polymers were then used in the form of dense membranes obtained by a casting process of evaporation. From these membranes, swelling studies in water and ionic conductivity were carried out.

Fuel cells are known for their high efficiency and have the potential to become a major technology for producing clean energy, especially when the fuel, e.g. hydrogen, is produced from renewable energy sources such as wind or solar. Currently, the two main obstacles to wide-spread commercialization are their high cost and the short operational lifetime of certain components. Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells have been a focus of attention in recent years, due to their use of hydrogen as a fuel, their comparatively low operating temperature and flexibility for use in both stationary and portable (automotive) applications. Perfluorosulfonic acid membranes are the leading ionomers for use in PEM hydrogen fuel cells. They combine essential qualities, such as high mechanical and thermal stability, with high proton conductivity. However, they are expensive and currently show insufficient chemical stability towards radicals formed during fuel cell operation, resulting in degradation that leads to premature failure. The incorporation of durability improving additives into perfluorosulfonic acid membranes is discussed in this work. iv Cerium oxide (ceria) is a well-known radical scavenger that has been used in the biological and medical field. It is able to quench radicals by facilely switching between its Ce(III) and Ce(IV) oxidation states. In this work, cerium oxide nanoparticles were added to perfluorosulfonic acid membranes and subjected to ex-situ and in-situ accelerated durability tests. The two ceria formulations, an in-house synthesized and commercially available material, were found to consist of crystalline particles of 2 – 5 nm and 20 – 150 nm size, respectively, that did not change size or shape when incorporated into the membranes. At higher temperature and relative humidity in gas flowing conditions, ceria in membranes is found to be reduced to its ionic form by virtue of the acidic environment. In ex-situ Fenton testing, the inclusion of ceria into membranes reduced the emission of fluoride, a strong indicator of degradation, by an order of magnitude with both liquid and gaseous hydrogen peroxide. In open-circuit voltage (OCV) hold fuel cell testing, ceria improved durability, as measured by several parameters such as OCV decay rate, fluoride emission and cell performance, over several hundred hours and influenced the formation of the platinum band typically found after durability testing.

<p dir="ltr">Catalyzing a green hydrogen economy can accelerate progress towards achieving the goal of a sustainable energy map with net-zero carbon emissions by rapid strides. An environmentally benign electrochemical energy conversion system is the Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC) which uses hydrogen as a fuel to produce electricity and is notably used in a variety of markets such as industries, commercial setups, and across the transportation sector, and is gaining prominence for use in heavy-duty vehicles such as buses and trucks. Despite its potential, the commercialization of PEFCs needs to address several challenges which are manifested in the form of mass transport limitations and deleterious mechanisms at the interfacial scale under severe operating conditions. Achieving a robust electrochemical performance in this context is predicated on desired interactions at the triple-phase boundary of the electrochemical engine of the PEFC – the porous cathode catalyst layer (CCL) where the principal oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) takes place. The liquid water produced as a byproduct of the ORR helps minimize membrane dehydration; however, excess water renders the reaction sites inactive causing reactant starvation. In addition, the oxidation of the carbonaceous support in the electrode and loss of valuable electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) pose major barriers that need to be overcome to ameliorate the life expectancy of the PEFC.</p><p dir="ltr">In this thesis, the multimodal physicochemical interactions occurring inside the catalyst layer are investigated through a synergistic blend of visualization and computational techniques. The spatiotemporal dynamics of capillary force-driven liquid transport that ensues concentration polarization thereby affecting the desired response will be probed in detail. The drop in efficacy of the ORR due to competing catalyst aging mechanisms and the impact of degradation stressors on chemical potential-induced instability will be examined. The reaction-transport-mechanics interplay in core-shell nanoparticles, a robust class of electrocatalysts that promises better mass activity compared to the single metal counterparts is further highlighted. Finally, the influence of electrode microstructural attributes on the electrochemical performance of the reverse mode of fuel cell operation, i.e., Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers (PEMWEs) is investigated through a mesoscale lens.</p>

The Next Generation funds have promoted energy transition projects and specially in Spain many green hydrogen projects are being presented throughout the territory. When developing renewable hydrogen-related projects multiple parameters and inputs must be considered since the characteristics of the sites' surroundings will have a great impact in the profitability of the project.  The main objective of this master thesis is to develop a methodology which helps with the process of selecting a suitable site to deploy a green hydrogen production facility. The study is limited to the green hydrogen production through electrolysis in the Valencian Community. It starts with georeferenced data gathering of the identified parameters that may have an impact in the viability of the project such the sun, wind and water resources avaliable as well as the transportation infrastructures and main hydrogen potential consumtions. Special attention is given to the water allocation since hydrogen could be exported and with it, the water resources from the Valencian Community. Afterwards this data is processed in a geographic information system software by performing a multi-criteria weighted overlay analysis. The weight of each criteria is given following the Analytic Hierarchy Process.  Once these steps have been completed, a suitability map of the Valencian Community is obtained in which one can see the most suitable locations to deploy green hydrogen production projects based on the selected criteria. In this thesis, the sites with the highest suitability score are selected in each of the three provinces of the Valencian Community and several parameters such as the green hydrogen production potential in tons/year or the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) have been calculated.  The results showed many similarities among the three locations in terms of green hydrogen production and LCOH due to its relativley close geographical situation. However, interesting findings such as the crucial need of having nearby a source of avaliable water and the key role of desalination plants have been depicted. / Next Generation-fonderna har främjat energiomställningsprojekt och särskilt i Spanien presenteras många gröna vätgasprojekt över hela territoriet. Vid utveckling av förnybara vätgasrelaterade projekt måste flera parametrar och ingångar beaktas eftersom egenskaperna hos platsernas omgivning kommer att ha stor inverkan på projektets lönsamhet.  Huvudsyftet med denna masteruppsats är att utveckla en metod som hjälper till med processen att välja en lämplig plats för att driftsätta en produktionsanläggning för grön vätgas. Studien är begränsad till grön vätgasproduktion genom elektrolys i Valencia-regionen. Den börjar med georefererad datainsamling av de identifierade parametrarna som kan ha en inverkan på projektets genomförbarhet, såsom tillgängliga sol-, vind- och vattenresurser samt transportinfrastruktur och huvudsakliga potentiella vätgasförbrukningar. Särskilt uppmärksamhet ägnas åt vattentilldelningen eftersom vätgas kan exporteras och därmed vattenresurserna från Valencia-regionen. Därefter bearbetas dessa data i ett geografiskt informationssystem genom att utföra en viktad överlagringsanalys med flera kriterier. Vikten av varje kriterium ges enligt den analytiska hierarkiprocessen.  När dessa steg har slutförts erhålls en lämplighetskarta över regionen Valencia där man kan se de lämpligaste platserna för att genomföra projekt för produktion av grön vätgas baserat på de valda kriterierna. I denna avhandling väljs de platser med högst lämplighetspoäng i var och en av de tre provinserna i Valencia-regionen och flera parametrar som den gröna vätgasproduktionspotentialen i ton/år eller den nivellerade kostnaden för vätgas (LCOH) har beräknats.  Resultaten visade många likheter mellan de tre platserna när det gäller produktion av grön vätgas och LCOH på grund av deras relativt nära geografiska läge. Det har dock gjorts intressanta upptäckter, t.ex. det avgörande behovet av att ha en tillgänglig vattenkälla i närheten och avlastningsanläggningarnas nyckelroll.

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In order to keep the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C, greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced. However, larger measures need to be implemented as it has been established that today's measures will not be enough. The Port of Gävle has plans to install a water electrolyser for hydrogen production of either Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) or Alkaline Water Electrolysis(AWE). The size of the electrolyser will be approximately 10 MW and will have the capacity to produce 2,000 tons of fossil-free hydrogen per year that might supply 100 heavy trucks. However, it is currently cheaper with fossil hydrogen production. Therefore, an article review is conducted containing a calculation part where the purpose is to investigate the amount of by-products produced and whether they can be sold in other areas of use to make renewable hydrogen more economically competitive. Information for the study has been retrieved from databases, search engines, companies, authorities and individuals deemed relevant to the study. The by-products from the 10 MW electrolyser in the Port of Gävle have been compared with 1,5 MW and 17 MW electrolysers, then a sensitivity analysis has also beenperformed on the 10 MW electrolysers. The potentially generated heat depends on the type of electrolyser where AWE generates 77 MWh of residual heat per day and PEM potentially generates 67 MWh of residual heat per day. Furthermore, AWE needs 64 kWh of electricity to produce 1 kg of hydrogen while PEM needs 66,5 kWh of electricity per kg of hydrogen produced. Revenues from residual heat sales for AWE were estimated annually to approximately 7 million SEK and for PEM approximately 6 million SEK. For electrolysis-produced oxygen to compete with cryogenic oxygen, the price should not exceed 108 SEK/tonne. For the 10 MW electrolyser, oxygen sales are estimated to generate approximately 1,1 million SEK annually for both AWE and PEM. Total income for AWE will annually be just over 8,1 million SEK and 7.1million SEK annually for PEM. The AWE process is then preferable as it is more economically sustainable as the income from the by-products is 12% higher than PEM due to higher production of oxygen and greater generation of residual heat. / För att hålla Parisavtalets mål att begränsa den globala uppvärmningen till väl under 2°C bör utsläppen av växthusgaser minska. Däremot behöver större åtgärder genomföras då det har konstaterats att dagens åtgärder inte kommer att räcka. Gävle hamn har planer på att installera en vattenelektrolysör för vätgasproduktion av antingen Protonutbytesmembran (PEM) eller Alkalisk vattenelektrolys (AWE). Storleken på elektrolysören kommer vara ungefär 10 MW och har kapaciteten att producera 2000 ton fossilfri vätgas per år som kan försörja 100 tunga lastbilar. Dock är det i dagsläget billigare med fossil vätgasproduktion. Därför genomförs en litteraturstudie innehållande en beräkningsdel. Där syftet är att undersöka mängden biprodukter som produceras samt om de kan säljas inom andra områden för att göra förnyelsebar vätgas mer ekonomiskt konkurrenskraftig. Information för studien har hämtats från databaser, sökmotorer, företag, myndigheter och enskilda personer som ansetts relevanta för studien. Biprodukterna från 10 MW elektrolysören i Gävle hamn har jämförts med 1,5 MW och 17 MW elektrolysörer, sedan har även en känslighetsanalys utförts på elektrolysörerna. Potentialen att generera värme beror på typen av elektrolysör där AWE genererar 77 MWh restvärme per dygn och PEM genererar potentiellt 67 MWh restvärme per dygn. Vidare behöver AWE 64 kWh el för att producera 1 kg vätgas medan PEM behöver 66,5 kWh el per producerat kg vätgas. Intäkterna från restvärmeförsäljningen för AWE beräknades årligen till ungefär 7mnSEK och för PEM ungefär 6 mnSEK. För att elektrolysframställd syrgas ska kunna konkurrera med kryogent framställd syrgas bör inte priset övergå 108 SEK/ton. För 10 MW elektrolysören beräknas syrgasförsäljningen kunna inbringa omkring 1,1 mnSEK årligen både för AWE och PEM. Totala inkomsten för AWE blir drygt 8,1 mnSEK/år och 7,1 mnSEK/år för PEM. AWE processen är att föredra då den är mer ekonomiskt hållbar då inkomsten från biprodukterna är 12% högre än PEM på grund av högre produktion av syrgas samt större generering av restvärme.

Three testing methods are proposed to characterize properties of fuel cell materials that affect the mechanical durability of proton exchange membranes (PEMs). The first two methods involved measuring the in-plane biaxial strength of PEMs and the biaxial hygrothermal stresses that occur in PEMs during hygrothermal cycles. The third method investigated the nonuniform thickness and compressibility of gas diffusion media which can lead to concentrated compressive stresses in the PEM in the through-plane direction. Fatigue and creep to leak tests using multi-cell pressure-loaded blister fixtures were conducted to obtain the lifetimes of PEMs before reaching a threshold value of gas leakage. These tests are believed to be more relevant than quasi-static uniaxial tensile to rupture tests because of the introduction of biaxial cyclic and sustained loading and the use of gas leakage as the failure criterion. They also have advantages over relative humidity cycling test because of the controllable mechanical loading. Nafion® NRE-211 membrane was tested at three different temperatures and the time-temperature superposition principle was used to construct a stress-lifetime master curve. Tested at 90°C, extruded Ion Power® N111-IP membrane was found to have longer lifetime than Gore™-Select® 57 and Nafion NRE-211 membranes under the same blister pressure profiles. Bimaterial specimens fabricated by bonding a piece of PEM to a substrate material were used to measure the hygral stresses, compressive and tensile, in the PEM during relative humidity cycles. The substrate material and its thickness were carefully chosen so that stresses in the PEM could be obtained directly from the curvature of the bimaterial specimen without knowing the constitutive properties of the PEM. Three commercial PEMs were tested at 80°C by cycling the relative humidity between 90% and 0% and by drying the membrane to 0%RH after submersion in liquid water. Stress histories for all three membranes show strong time-dependencies and Nafion® NRE-211 exhibited the largest tensile stress upon drying. Besides in-plane stresses, hard spots in gas diffusion media (GDM) can locally overcompress PEMs in the out-of-plane direction and cause electrical shorting. In this study, GDM samples sealed with an impermeable Kapton® film on the surface were compressed with uniform air pressure and the nonuniform displacement field was measured with a three-dimensional digital image correlation technique. Hard spots as a result of the nonuniform thickness and compressibility of the GDM were found and their severities as stress risers are evident. Locally, a nominal platen compression (similar to bipolar plate land compression) of 0.68 MPa can lead to compressive stress as large as 2.30 MPa in various hard spots that are in the order of 100s µm to 1 mm in size. / Ph. D.

The results described in this dissertation focus on the synthesis and utilization of several disulfonated poly(arylene ether) random copolymer membranes in fuel cell and reverse osmosis applications. Poly(arylene ether)s were prepared by direct step copolymerization using a third monomer 3,3–-disulfonated 4,4–-dichlorodiphenylsulfone. The membrane properties of a 4,4–-biphenol-based disulfonated poly (arylene ether sulfone) random copolymer (BPS-35), optionally blended with various fluorine containing polymers or unsulfonated biphenol-based poly (arylene ether sulfone)s (Radel R) were investigated for fuel cell applications. Fluorine containing copolymers used included with 2,2–-hexafluoroisopropylidene 4,4–-biphenol based unsulfonated (6F-00) or disulfonated (6FS-35 and 6FS-60) PAES, hexafluoroisopropylidene biphenol based 4,4–-difluoro phenyl phosphine oxide) (6FPPO), and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (Kynar®). Tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) images of the membranes with 10 wt% of fluorinated copolymers showed macroscopic phase separation. Good miscibility between the copolymers at low concentrations was also confirmed by the observation of only one glass transition temperature. Compared to the benchmark Nafion 1135, the 10wt% blends of the fluorinated copolymers afforded a considerable reduction in the methanol permeabilities, which is important for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). The best DMFC performance with 0.5 M methanol fuel was illustrated with blends containing 10 wt% 6FS-00. At higher methanol concentrations (up to 2.0 M) BPS-35/6FS-00 (90/10) membranes outperformed both Nafion membranes. Blends of BPS-35 blends with 6FS-35 or Radel R were also used as RO membranes. The highest salt rejections of 97.2 and 98.0% were obtained from BPS35/Radel R (90:10) and BPS-35/6FS-35 (95:5) blends, respectively in the salt form. A systematic study of the preparation of BPS-20 random copolymer skin-core asymmetric membranes by diffusion induced phase separation (DIPS) from various polar aprotic solvent or cosolvent systems is reported. The best aprotic solvents to generate an asymmetric structure were NMP and DMAc whereas tetrahydrofuran (THF)/ formamide (FAm) (80/20 v/v) mixtures proved to be the best co-solvent systems. Acetone was the best non-solvent to prepare asymmetric membranes from both aprotic solvents and co-solvent mixtures. Overall, asymmetric membranes prepared from THF/FAm co-solvent mixtures illustrated the most stable phase separated morphology that was free of macrovoids. However, thicker skins (~5 μM) were formed due to the high volatility of THF. Therefore, ultra-thin skin thin film composites (TFC) based on BPS-20 in diethylene glycol (Di(EG) were prepared. Thermal treatment of these TFC was conducted at 90 °C and the addition of 20 wt% glycerin to the casting formulation helped to prevent pore collapse in the porous Udel polysulfone. A minimum of three coats was required to obtain a dense, smooth, and pinhole free skin layer. The generation of three dimensional (ternary) solubility parameter phase diagrams based on experimental data was formulated and a region of solubility based on the solubility parameters of the aprotic solvents and the different co-solvent systems was established for BPS-20. / Ph. D.

Les travaux de cette thèse visent à apporter des éléments de solutions au problème de la durée de vie des systèmes pile à combustible (FCS – Fuel Cell System) de type à « membrane échangeuse de protons » (PEM – Proton Exchange Membrane) et se décline sur deux champs disciplinaires complémentaires :Une première approche vise à augmenter la durée de vie de celle-ci par la conception et la mise en œuvre d'une architecture de pronostic et de gestion de l'état de santé (PHM – Prognostics & Health Management). Les PEM-FCS, de par leur technologie, sont par essence des systèmes multi-physiques (électriques, fluidiques, électrochimiques, thermiques, mécaniques, etc.) et multi-échelles (de temps et d'espace) dont les comportements sont difficilement appréhendables. La nature non linéaire des phénomènes, le caractère réversible ou non des dégradations, et les interactions entre composants rendent effectivement difficile une étape de modélisation des défaillances. De plus, le manque d'homogénéité (actuel) dans le processus de fabrication rend difficile la caractérisation statistique de leur comportement. Le déploiement d'une solution PHM permettrait en effet d'anticiper et d'éviter les défaillances, d'évaluer l'état de santé, d'estimer le temps de vie résiduel du système, et finalement, d'envisager des actions de maîtrise (contrôle et/ou maintenance) pour assurer la continuité de fonctionnement. Une deuxième approche propose d'avoir recours à une hybridation passive de la PEMFC avec des super-condensateurs (UC – Ultra Capacitor) de façon à faire fonctionner la pile au plus proche de ses conditions opératoires optimales et ainsi, à minimiser l'impact du vieillissement. Les UCs apparaissent comme une source complémentaire à la PEMFC en raison de leur forte densité de puissance, de leur capacité de charge/décharge rapide, de leur réversibilité et de leur grande durée de vie. Si l'on prend l'exemple des véhicules à pile à combustible, l'association entre une PEMFC et des UCs peut être réalisée en utilisant un système hybride de type actif ou passif. Le comportement global du système dépend à la fois du choix de l'architecture et du positionnement de ces éléments en lien avec la charge électrique. Aujourd'hui, les recherches dans ce domaine se focalisent essentiellement sur la gestion d'énergie entre les sources et stockeurs embarqués ; et sur la définition et l'optimisation d'une interface électronique de puissance destinée à conditionner le flux d'énergie entre eux. Cependant, la présence de convertisseurs statiques augmente les sources de défaillances et pannes (défaillance des interrupteurs du convertisseur statique lui-même, impact des oscillations de courant haute fréquence sur le vieillissement de la pile), et augmente également les pertes énergétiques du système complet (même si le rendement du convertisseur statique est élevé, il dégrade néanmoins le bilan global). / This thesis work aims to provide solutions for the limited lifetime of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Systems (PEM-FCS) based on two complementary disciplines:A first approach consists in increasing the lifetime of the PEM-FCS by designing and implementing a Prognostics & Health Management (PHM) architecture. The PEM-FCS are essentially multi-physical systems (electrical, fluid, electrochemical, thermal, mechanical, etc.) and multi-scale (time and space), thus its behaviors are hardly understandable. The nonlinear nature of phenomena, the reversibility or not of degradations and the interactions between components makes it quite difficult to have a failure modeling stage. Moreover, the lack of homogeneity (actual) in the manufacturing process makes it difficult for statistical characterization of their behavior. The deployment of a PHM solution would indeed anticipate and avoid failures, assess the state of health, estimate the Remaining Useful Lifetime (RUL) of the system and finally consider control actions (control and/or maintenance) to ensure operation continuity.A second approach proposes to use a passive hybridization of the PEMFC with Ultra Capacitors (UC) to operate the fuel cell closer to its optimum operating conditions and thereby minimize the impact of aging. The UC appear as an additional source to the PEMFC due to their high power density, their capacity to charge/discharge rapidly, their reversibility and their long life. If we take the example of fuel cell hybrid electrical vehicles, the association between a PEMFC and UC can be performed using a hybrid of active or passive type system. The overall behavior of the system depends on both, the choice of the architecture and the positioning of these elements in connection with the electric charge. Today, research in this area focuses mainly on energy management between the sources and embedded storage and the definition and optimization of a power electronic interface designated to adjust the flow of energy between them. However, the presence of power converters increases the source of faults and failures (failure of the switches of the power converter and the impact of high frequency current oscillations on the aging of the PEMFC), and also increases the energy losses of the entire system (even if the performance of the power converter is high, it nevertheless degrades the overall system).

Cette thèse développe des approches pour le diagnostic et le pronostic de systèmes dynamiques incertains en utilisant la technique de modélisation Bond Graph (BG). Tout d'abord, une représentation par intervalles des incertitudes paramétriques et de mesures est intégrée à un modèle BG-LFT (Linear Fractional Transformation). Une méthode de détection robuste de défaut est développée en utilisant les règles de l'arithmétique d'intervalle pour la génération de seuils robustes et adaptatifs sur les résidus nominaux. La méthode est validée en temps réel sur un système de générateur de vapeur.Deuxièmement, une nouvelle méthodologie de pronostic hybride est développée en utilisant les Relations de Redondance Analytique déduites d'un modèle BG et les Filtres Particulaires. Une estimation de l'état courant du paramètre candidat pour le pronostic est obtenue en termes probabilistes. La prédiction de la durée de vie résiduelle est atteinte en termes probabilistes. Les incertitudes associées aux mesures bruitées, les conditions environnementales, etc. sont gérées efficacement. La méthode est validée en temps réel sur un système mécatronique incertain.Enfin, la méthodologie de pronostic développée est mise en œuvre et validée pour le suivi efficace de la santé d'un sous-système électrochimique d’une pile à combustible à membrane échangeuse de protons (PEMFC) industrielle à l’aide de données de dégradation réelles. / This thesis develops the approaches for diagnostics and prognostics of uncertain dynamic systems in Bond Graph (BG) modeling framework. Firstly, properties of Interval Arithmetic (IA) and BG in Linear Fractional Transformation, are integrated for representation of parametric and measurement uncertainties on an uncertain BG model. Robust fault detection methodology is developed by utilizing the rules of IA for the generation of adaptive interval valued thresholds over the nominal residuals. The method is validated in real time on an uncertain and highly complex steam generator system.Secondly, a novel hybrid prognostic methodology is developed using BG derived Analytical Redundancy Relationships and Particle Filtering algorithms. Estimations of the current state of health of a system parameter and the associated hidden parameters are achieved in probabilistic terms. Prediction of the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of the system parameter is also achieved in probabilistic terms. The associated uncertainties arising out of noisy measurements, environmental conditions etc. are effectively managed to produce a reliable prediction of RUL with suitable confidence bounds. The method is validated in real time on an uncertain mechatronic system.Thirdly, the prognostic methodology is validated and implemented on the electrical electro-chemical subsystem of an industrial Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. A BG of the latter is utilized which is suited for diagnostics and prognostics. The hybrid prognostic methodology is validated, involving real degradation data sets.