Chinese scientists boost hydrogen fuel cell power fourfold with new design
The proton-transfer breakthrough could improve hydrogen vehicles and space systems, while reducing the use of costly platinum
Chinese scientists have developed a way to generate a fourfold increase in power output of hydrogen fuel cells, an advance that could broaden their use from road vehicles to space missions.
Li Jie, assistant professor with BIT and one of the paper’s authors, said on Thursday that, with the new tech, the “power stack of a fuel cell vehicle can be made smaller and lighter, and the vehicle can get stronger continuous output and a longer driving range”.
PEMFCs operate at relatively low temperatures, generally between 60 and 80 degrees Celsius (140 to 176 degrees Fahrenheit). They can convert about 50 to 60 per cent of the energy in their hydrogen fuel into electricity.
The process is straightforward: at the anode, hydrogen molecules give up electrons and become protons. While the protons pass through an electrolyte membrane to the cathode, the electrons flow through an external circuit, generating electricity. At the cathode, the protons, electrons and oxygen combine to form water.