A recent breakthrough by a British company may have dismissed
insinuations that cars powered by fuel cells could be marred by cost and
durability.
ACAL Energy engineers
who recently developed a new type of fuel cell claim it could last up to
300,000 miles without degradation.
Until now, durability and affordability are touted as formidable
obstacles to widespread adoption, but that is to change thanks to a
breakthrough by ACAL.
Any auto show attendee can attest, the cars of the future
have long been forecasted to be powered by fuel cells,
rather than rely on gasoline for motivation.
Fuel cells combine oxygen and hydrogen to
produce electricity, and they emit only water as a byproduct.
Almost all recent prototypes demonstrated in cars have been proton
exchange membrane fuel cells, which pull oxygen ions through a platinum-coated
membrane to bond with the hydrogen.
The platinum, which acts as a catalyst to start the chemical reaction,
has been the primary issue. Platinum is expensive, heavy, and deteriorates with
use. (Learn more about how fuel cells work.)
ACAL says it uses a new liquid catalyst that it calls FlowCath to
replace the platinum. FlowCath cools the fuel cell at the same time it
catalyzes the process, removing most of the decay mechanisms that plagued
earlier platinum fuel cells, says ACAL.
The FlowCath fuel cell produces about 135 hp at dramatically lower cost
than earlier fuel cells, and it beats the U.S. Energy Department's durability
goals by a factor of two, according to the company.
ACAL says
it has six automakers lined up to test its new fuel cell, pointing to the
potential the industry sees this breakthrough.
(Read our drive of a Mercedes-Benz fuel-cell car.)
Fuel cells are coming to market in micro volumes; Honda, Toyota, and
Hyundai have announced plans to sell production vehicles to the public by 2015.
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