U.S. Developed New Fuel Cell Increases Power by 10 Times

If you want to start an electric car for a long journey, you need a gas-powered generator, like the Chevrolet Volt, to extend its range. The problem is that it runs on such a generator and is not more efficient than traditional cars. In fact, it is even less efficient because it has a heavy battery pack and it is laborious to carry.

Now researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a fuel cell that is more efficient and can replace gasoline generators. Like all fuel cells, it relies on chemical reactions instead of burning fuel, and it generates twice as much electricity as an internal combustion generator.

The researchers' fuel cells have been greatly modified. This model has a solid ceramic electrolyte and is called a solid-oxide fuel cell. Unlike hydrogen fuel cells commonly used in automobiles, solid oxide fuel cells can operate on a variety of off-the-shelf fuels, including diesel, gasoline, and natural gas. They have been used to generate electricity for buildings, but they are considered to be impractical for use in cars because they are too large and because they operate at very high temperatures, usually around 900 degrees Celsius.

By developing new electrolyte materials and changing battery designs, researchers have made fuel cells more compact. It can produce more than 10 times the power, which is compared with the traditional battery of the same size, and can be smaller than the gasoline engine, while producing the same power.

Researchers also lowered the operating temperature of the fuel cell and reduced the number of Baidu, which enabled them to use cheaper materials. "This is a huge cost difference," said Eric Wachsman, director of the Energy Research Center at the University of Maryland, who led the study. He said that researchers have identified some simple methods that can increase the output power and further reduce the temperature, and some of the methods used have shown promising results in the laboratory. These advances can reduce costs to a point where they can compete with gasoline engines. Vassien said he is in the early stages of starting a company and commercializing this technology.

Vasile’s fuel cell is currently operating at 650 degrees Celsius, and his goal is to reduce it to 350 degrees Celsius for use in cars. Isolating fuel cells is not difficult because they are small. A sufficiently large fuel cell stack requires only 10 cm of side length to drive the car. High temperature is a bigger problem, because it requires the use of expensive heat-resistant materials in the equipment, and because the heating battery reaches the operating temperature, it takes a long time. By lowering the temperature, Vasile can use cheaper materials and reduce the time required for the battery to start.

Even with these advancements, fuel cells will not be able to play fast, and each time the car is driven on a short distance, switching the battery will cause great wear, which will reduce its life. Instead, it will match the battery pack, just like the internal combustion engine in Ford, Vassien said. In this way, the operation of the fuel cell can be made smoother, helping to maintain the battery's advantages without causing sudden force acceleration.

Researchers have achieved their results primarily because of improved solid electrolyte materials that are at the heart of solid oxide fuel cells. In traditional fuel cells, the electrolyte is thick enough to provide structural support. However, the thickness of the electrolyte limits the amount of electricity generated. In the past few years, researchers have been developing designs that do not require electrolytes to support the batteries. As a result, they can make thinner electrolytes and achieve higher output power at lower temperatures. Researchers at the University of Maryland have made this step even bigger. They have developed new multi-layer electrolytes and have increased output power.

This work is part of a larger project of the U.S. Department of Energy. In the past decade, this project has enabled solid oxide fuel cells to be physically transported. The first result of this work may not be fuel cells in cars. So far, Vassien has only produced relatively small fuel cells, and major engineering work is still to be completed. For the first time, vehicles using solid oxide fuel cells may be long-distance trucks, which have cabs with sleepers.

Equipment suppliers such as Delphi and Cummins are developing fuel cells that can drive air conditioners, TVs and microwaves in the cab, and are expected to cut fuel consumption by 85%, which is in contrast to idling truck engines. . Delphi's system also uses a design that allows for thinner electrolytes but operates at temperatures higher than Vasile’s fuel cells. Fuel cells can be turned on on Mondays, allowing it to run at low speeds for a week, still reducing energy consumption by 85%. Delphi has made a prototype and plans to demonstrate the truck-mounted system next year.