Long-life fuel cell Samsung, the Republic of Korea, has announced the launch of a new fuel cell-powered laptop that can last up to a month without needing to be recharged. The new Sense Q35 laptop has the ability to run for eight hours a day, five days a week, for 30 days without recharging the fuel cells that power it. The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) laptop has a total energy storage of 12,000 Wh. The company claims that the major breakthrough that it has achieved in this new model is to significantly reduce the amount of noise produced by the fuel cells, so that the Sense Q35 is no louder than conventional laptops. Source: www.platinum.matthey.com

Fuel cell technology for automobiles Daihatsu Motor Co., a unit of the Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor, has developed a fuel cell technology that uses hydrazine hydrate, a liquid fuel for rocket, completely eliminating the need for platinum in the electrode catalyst, as in conventional fuel cells. Until now, the precious metal has been an essential material in the electrode catalyst in fuel cells for automobiles. Daihatsu fuel cell technology provides several benefits, including resource conservation, low cost, high output, and safe and easy fuel handling. Source: www.physorg.com

Self-hydrating PEM fuel cell In a recent study, scientists from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and PEM fuel cell supplier GasHub Technology Pte. Ltd. found that the dehydration of Nafion material at the anode serves to influence PEM fuel cell performance. Maintaining the hydration of the Nafion material at the anode can greatly improve the performance of a PEM fuel cell without any external humidification. The researchers have invented a self-humidifying technique for PEM fuel cells. The membrane electrode assembly in the self-humidifying device comprises an anode with added nanoscale hygroscopic silicon dioxide and a cathode either with or without added silicon dioxide, with a Nafion membrane sandwiched in between. The nano particles covered with a Nafion polymer layer functions like the proton transport from the platinum (Pt) active site into the Nafion membrane at the anode and from the membrane to the Pt active site at the cathode. When the water produced by electrochemical reaction at the cathode back-diffuses to anode, the hygroscopic silica adsorbs it. The water back-diffusion also hydrates Nafion membrane. The silica-water bond remains strong due to the Van der Waals force; the water the silica adsorbed is not released even at high temperatures. The silica particles in the active electrode layer (3:6 per cent of silica to Nafion) considerably improve cell performance without external humidification. Using the new invention, GasHub has already launched the world’s first commercialized air-breathing PEM fuel cell stack. Source: www.innovationmagazine.com

Fuel cell CHP unit Ceres Power, the United Kingdom, has successfully demonstrated its integrated combined heat and power (CHP) unit. The compact and wall-mountable unit has demonstrated the capability to generate electricity and all of the central heating and hot water requirements of a typical home, avoiding the need for a separate boiler. The CHP unit uses the same natural gas and electricity connections as a boiler. The operating temperature (500º- 600°C) of the unique fuel cell technology has enabled the use of widely available and cost-effective raw materials, components, and manufacturing facilities and equipment. Source: www.fuelcelltoday.com

Practical fuel cells for electronics In the United States, Prof. Ronald Besser of Stevens Institute of Technology, has devised a new system that ensures the compactness of hydrogen-based fuel cells. This new scheme for creating a compact device to efficiently convert methanol into hydrogen could make it practical to use these fuel cells in laptop computers and other portable electronics. Such a device could allow a laptop to run for 50 hours and be recharged instantly by swapping a small fuel pack. Unlike in previous fuel cell designs, in which the different processing steps are built into successive flat layers, Prof. Besser’s design uses a cylindrical design with the layers forming concentric tubes. In this, heat spreads in all directions from a combustor at the centre, facilitating reactions. Aerogels can be incorporated to keep each layer at the optimal temperature. The use of advanced plastics for several of the layers can help decrease costs. The fuel processor for generating the 20 W of power needed for a laptop or a large radio would be 4.8 cm in diameter and 10 cm long. Adding the fuel cell and fuel storage could mean another 20 cm of length, but the processor would still be small enough to fit in a laptop. Considering the whole package, the system would store about 1,000 Wh/kg; the very best batteries reach only 300 Wh/kg and laptop batteries can be about half of this. Such a system could potentially provide 5-10 times the amount of energy as a battery. Source: www.technologyreview.com

New fuel cell concept General Motors, the United States, is unveiling the HydroGen4 concept based on GM’s existing Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell prototype. HydroGen4’s polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack, which features fourth-generation fuel cell technology, consists of 440 series-connected cells that produce up to 125 hp (93 kW) electrical output. A 100 hp (73 kW) 3-phase synchronous electric motor develops 320 Nm of torque and accelerates the vehicle from 0-100 km in a claimed 12 s. The new fuel cell propulsion system is powered by a 47 hp (35 kW) nickel metal hydride (NiMH) buffer battery pack with a capacity of 1.8 kWh. The HydroGen4 has a fuel storage tank system with three 700 bar high-pressure tanks made from carbon fibre, which can hold 4.2 kg of hydrogen, supporting an operating range of up to 320 km. The prototype has been designed for a life cycle of 2 years or 80,000 km, and can start and run at sub-zero temperatures. The fuel cell itself has an operating temperature range of -25º to 45ºC. Source: www.automotiveworld.com

Sugar-based bio-battery prototype Sony reports to have succeeded in creating an environmentally friendly prototype battery that generates electricity solely through the chemical reactions of sugar. The bio-cell, which measures 39 mm3, achieved an output of 50 mW, enough to play music on a Walkman. Development is still early for the battery, but the company believes the technology could be the basis for an ecologically friendly source of energy that could potentially replace lithium-ion batteries or fuel cells in the future. At the anode, sugar-digesting enzymes extract electrons and hydrogen ions from glucose. The hydrogen ions pass through a membrane separator to the cathode, where they react with oxygen from the air and produce water (by-product). Electrons flow around the circuit outside the device producing the electricity needed to power it. The new method does not need sugar or other largely pure sources of glucose to work. Source: www.techspot.com

Microbial fuel cell design boosts electricity production In the United States, biological engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) have designed a microbial fuel cell (MFC) capable of generating about 10 times more electricity than previously achievable from an air-cathode MFC of comparable size. MFC, also known as biological fuel cell, uses bacteria to convert biodegradable materials into electricity. As the bacteria consume the pollutants they shed electrons, which flow through a circuit and generate electricity. The new design developed by the OSU team involves sandwiching a cloth layer between the anode and cathode parts of the MFC, a configuration that significantly reduces internal resistance, resulting in a much higher power density. In lab experiments, the team could generate 1,010 W/m3 of reactor volume or enough to power sixteen 60 W light bulbs. Previously, the highest level of sustainable electricity generated from air-cathode MFC of 1 m3 was less than 115 W. Recently, the OSU team has generated over 1.5 kW from the same reactor volume. This breakthrough could allow MFCs to be used more widely as sources of sustainable energy and ultimately lead to portable systems for power generation. Source: www.sciencedaily.com