VW and Stanford University ups fuel cell performance, reduces costs too!

By JAY WONG | 3 October 2018


WOLFSBURG: Volkswagen (VW) and Stanford University in the United States have found a way to reduce the comparatively high cost of fuel cell technology to take on the classic electric car with battery cells.

One of the biggest cost drivers for fuel cells in particular is the use of the precious metal platinum, which is required as a catalyst to operate the fuel cell.

The material is distributed as particles on carbon powder, but the desired catalytic process only takes place on the surface of the platinum particles, which wastes large quantities of the cost-intensive material.

In a process newly developed by the collaborative efforts of the two entities, platinum atoms have been specifically placed on a carbon surface in order to produce extremely thin particles - reducing the amount of platinum required to a fraction of the current amount.

This increases the efficiency of the newly-developed fuel cell catalyst by a factor of three compared to current technology, while at the same time increasing its durability.

Meanwhile, it was found that the service life and catalyst performance have increased, which can benefit other applications requiring high-performance materials, such as next-generation lithium-ion batteries.

In terms of efficiency, range and refuelling times, cars with fuel cells are comparable to conventional combustion engines - giving off water and heat as emissions.

Due to the comparatively high production costs, the fuel cell is currently still a niche product, but with the help of the new catalyst technology, the economic efficiency would increase enormously.

This would make the fuel cell a real alternative to battery-powered drives and the classic combustion engine.

The task of the researchers is now to transfer the results obtained in the laboratory to industrial large-scale production.

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