Aug
25
Modeling the Fuel Cell From the Lung
August 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters scientists propose that inspiration using the layout of the lung improves the energy efficiency and saves the catalyst material of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The group calculated results for a single cell in a stack that shows the amount of catalyst could be reduced by a [...]
May
26
Cracking the Fuel Cell Platinum Problem
May 26, 2010 | 5 Comments
Platinum – the joy of a jewelry designer – the bane of a catalyst user, and in the current economy its the most expensive element on earth. Platinum is the cost problem for fuel cells. Developing alternatives are treasure hunts of the highest caliber. Chemists at Brown University have demonstrated that a nanoparticle with a [...]
Apr
28
A Fuel Cell Breakthrough
April 28, 2010 | 5 Comments
Researchers at the University of Houston and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have created a new form of platinum that could be used to make cheaper, more efficient fuel cells. By tweaking platinum’s reactivity, the researchers were able to curtail the amount of platinum required by 80 percent, and hope to soon [...]
Apr
12
An Affordable Fuel Cell
April 12, 2010 | 2 Comments
Oorja means energy in the language Sanskrit. It’s also the name of a Fremont California company selling fuel cells running on methanol. Oorja has been using its prototype and very early production models in large material handling forklifts. The materials handling market vehicles typically run on giant lead acid batteries instead of gasoline. The batteries [...]
Feb
25
The Exploding Bloom Box
February 25, 2010 | 2 Comments
With much coordinated anticipation Bloom Energy revealed their Bloom Box (BB) fuel cell to the press yesterday. With working units sold and operating on sites in California naysaying has to be a real hard task. There are articles and blogs rich in interesting details and after an hour or so of looking through them I [...]
Feb
23
Bloom Fuel Cell Booms Tomorrow
February 23, 2010 | 2 Comments
With a setup blitz of media coverage from Fortune and Business Week in the business section to CBS on the political left and much of the green crowd in between, Bloom Energy and their “fuel cell” or very close approximation of one is having a media event Wednesday February 24th, 2010. That’s when some answers [...]
Jan
11
A Look At The Only Fuel Cell On The Market
January 11, 2010 | 1 Comment
Toshiba of Japan has been a leader in fuel cells and last October quietly put a methanol fuel cell on the market. Japan is well known for introducing leading technologies into their home market, so this isn’t s shock. But it certainly is a shot across the bow of every other fuel cell market ‘want [...]
Oct
29
Developing a Cooler Fuel Cell
October 29, 2009 | 3 Comments
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Science Catalysis Science Program is supporting solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) development. The SOFCs use an electrochemical process to produce electricity by oxidizing a fuel. As the name implies, SOFCs use a ceramic electrolyte, a material known as yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). But the material has three significant drawbacks: [...]
