New Process Created to Develop More Efficient Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Car manufacturers are continuing their push towards developing car fleets that use hydrogen fuel cells inside of their vehicles. This is because the market for vehicles that are better for the environment has proven to be profitable and a must if we are to fix the damage we have already done. However, there has been an argument over how inefficient the making of hydrogen fuel cells is. Researchers at Purdue University have made a chemical & technological breakthrough that will make it much more efficient.

They have created a new process to make hydrogen fuel cells named hydrothermolysis. What this process consists of is taking a high hydrogen content powdered chemical known as ammonia borane and combining it with two other hydrogen generating processes. Hydrolysis and thermolysis are combined with the chemical to create a much more efficient hydrogen fuel cell that operates at a much lower temperature and pressure than current fuel cells do today.

What makes this process even more amazing is that it has the overall potential of being twice as effective as current hydrogen fuel cells on the market today. It is even more amazing because it can do so while operating at around half the temperature as well. Another interesting fact is that instead of running at the typical 5,000 psi used on most hydrogen fuel cells on the market today, this unique process only requires the fuel cell to have 200 psi.

This new process is even more important because the United States government has established the year 2015 as the target date for a more efficient hydrogen fuel cell. All these researchers have left to do is find a way to recycle the ammonia borane and return it back to it's original state after use in the process. This is important because the whole reason for using the hydrogen fuel cell is so that we do not pollute the planet and create waste in the process.

What this process means for the future of hydrogen based vehicles is quite a bit. It could drastically cut down on the high costs associated with owning a hydrogen based vehicle. If you could cut down on the costs you would make the car more available to the general public and ensure that they sell more than the other traditional fuel based automobiles available on the market today. Please feel free to check back here for the latest updates when it comes to this amazing technological breakthrough.

Sources:

1. Steven A. Mottor, My own Sources, 2010
2. Inhabitat, http://inhabitat.com/2010/06/16/breakthrough-process-increases-efficiency-in-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars/, 2010.