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Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) are undergoing a rapid development, due to the ever-growing interest towards their use to decarbonize power generation applications. In the transportation sector, a key technological challenge is their thermal management, i.e. the ability to preserve the membrane at the optimal thermal state to maximize the generated power. This corresponds to a narrow temperature range of 75-80°C, possibly uniformly distributed over the entire active surface. The achievement of such a requirement is complicated by the generation of thermal power, the limited exchange area for radiators, and the poor heat transfer performance of conventional coolants (e.g., ethylene glycol). The interconnection of thermal/fluid/electrochemical processes in PEMFCs renders heat rejection as a potential performance limiter, suggesting its maximization for power density increase.

The development of the additive manufacturing technology has enabled the design of components with complex structures that were previously unfeasible with conventional techniques. Among them, the Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures are gaining scientific interest in several applications. Thanks to their high surface-to-volume ratio, lightweight construction, and exceptional mechanical properties, TPMS structures are being investigated for the production of high-performance heat exchangers to be adopted in different industrial fields, such as automotive and aerospace. Another significant advantage of the TPMS structures is their high degree of design flexibility. Each structure is created by replicating a characteristic unit cell in the three spatial dimensions. The three key parameters, namely cell type, cell dimension and wall thickness can be adjusted to provide considerable versatility in the design process.