Home›Global Markets›Trade & Tariffs›Chinese scientists report design boosting hydrogen fue…

Chinese scientists report design boosting hydrogen fuel cell power fourfold

The approach targets a long-standing efficiency bottleneck by improving how quickly protons move through the catalyst layer.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Trade & Tariffs

Chinese scientists say they have developed a design that raises hydrogen fuel cell power output by four times, a step they argue could expand use beyond road vehicles to applications including space missions, according to SCMP Economy.

The work focuses on proton exchange membrane fuel cells, which typically operate at 60 to 80 degrees Celsius and convert about 50 to 60 percent of the energy in their hydrogen into electricity.

SCMP Economy reports the main limitation has been the rate at which protons travel through the catalyst layer where reactions occur, with widely used materials such as Nafion tending to form tightly packed nanoscale structures when mixed with catalysts.

The outlet says the new design is intended to address that transport slowdown by enabling faster proton movement, helping fuel cells run more efficiently as they generate electricity and produce water as the only exhaust.

More like this

Sources