- Email: [email protected]
AIST demos high-power, low-temperature SOFC
NEWS 85 positions at its Burnaby, BC and Lowell, Massachusetts locations. The cuts represent approximately 20% of its workforce. This restructuring is intended to narrow Ballard’s research and product development programs to focus on commercial priorities, and also reduce the company’s administrative support and overhead positions. The company’s president/CEO, John Sheridan, says that ‘while this was a difficult decision given the people implications, this move to a leaner, lower-cost organizational structure is a key step in Ballard’s drive to profitability.’ A third-quarter charge of approximately US$4 million will be recorded for related severance and restructuring costs, which is expected to be offset by savings in 2009. On a full-year basis, these organizational changes are expected to result in annual cost savings of approximately $10 million. Earlier this year Ballard eliminated 39 positions in a cost-cutting move, which was attributed to shifting to a two-segment market focus on stationary power and motive power products [FCB, June 2009]. Contact: Ballard Power Systems Inc, Burnaby, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 454 0900, www.ballard.com
RESEARCH
AIST demos high-power, low-temperature SOFC
R
esearchers in Japan have demonstrated a high-performance micro solid oxide fuel cell that operates at lower temperatures, thanks to a restructured electrode. The tube-shaped miniature SOFC has a reported power output of about 1 W/cm2 at 600°C, compared with conventional SOFCs which operate at temperatures above 700°C. The cell is suitable for portable power sources, which require quick startup, as well as auxiliary power for automotive applications, says Toshio Suzuki, a research scientist at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology (AIST). Suzuki led the development of the new fuel cell with colleagues at AIST’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, and the Fine Ceramics Research Association in Nagoya. The work was reported recently in Science [DOI: 10.1126/science.1176404]. Suzuki’s group created a power source with a lower operating temperature by improving the structure of the anode, where the fuel comes 10
Fuel Cells Bulletin
in. The group used conventional techniques – including lithography and etching – to make anodes with varying degrees of porosity. The cell is about 2 mm in diameter. The best-performing anode was a very porous structure based on nickel oxide, a conventional material for these electrodes. Suzuki says they chose to use existing materials because their performance over time has been proven. ‘These are reliable materials for long-term stability, and have a cost advantage compared with other new materials for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells,’ he explains. ‘The performance is no doubt quite good,’ says Harry Tuller, professor of ceramics and electronic materials at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ‘This is a nice systematic study showing the evolutionary impact of demonstrated improvements [in the electrode],’ he says in a commentary in the MIT Technology Review. However, Tuller cautions that the electrodes and the electrolyte are doped with small amounts of expensive materials, which could add expense to the cells. The anode contains, in addition to nickel oxide, a small amount of the rare element scandium. Eric Wachsman, director of the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy and chair of materials science and engineering at the University of Florida, adds that it is difficult to bring down the operating temperature of such fuel cells without compromising on power output. He is also working on new SOFC electrode structures. Using a different set of materials and a similar approach, Wachsman recently demonstrated a fuel cell with a restructured anode and a new electrolyte for a power output of 2 W/ cm2 at 650°C. This work is described in Electrochemistry Communications [DOI: 10.1016/j.elecom.2009.05.041]. Suzuki says his group is in discussions with several companies about commercializing the micro SOFCs. Contact: Toshio Suzuki, Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology, Nagoya, Japan. Email: [email protected], Web: http://unit.aist. go.jp/amri/en
Alkaline membrane promises affordable fuel cells
R
esearchers at the University of California – Riverside have developed a low-cost alkaline membrane that uses non-precious metal fuel cell
catalysts composed of cobalt, nickel, iron, and silver rather than very expensive platinum. One of the reasons why fuel cells are so costly is because they require platinum and other precious metals as catalysts. The best way to eliminate platinum while maintaining its many benefits is through the use of a high-performance hydroxide exchange membrane, the equivalent of Nafion® for an alkaline fuel cell. Professor Yushan Yan of UC Riverside and his associates – including Professor Gaohong He at Dalian University of Technology in China – recently demonstrated a power density of 250 mW/cm2 using an alkaline membrane composed of quaternary phosphonium-based polymers. The team expects to improve on this in the near future, according to a ChemicalOnline.com report. The researchers reported on the synthesis of this ionomer – a polysulfone-methylene phosphonium hydroxide – in the German journal Angewandte Chemie [DOI: 10.1002/ anie.200990181]. They also described its method of action, which is based on creating a three-phase boundary in the catalyst layer. By switching from an acidic medium to a basic one, hydroxide (OH–) exchange membrane fuel cells (HEMFCs) have the potential to solve the problems of catalyst cost and durability, while achieving high power and energy density. In a basic environment, the cathode oxygen reduction overpotential can be significantly reduced, leading to high fuel cell efficiency, and non-precious metals can be used as catalysts – which are also more durable in a basic medium. Furthermore, HEMFCs can offer fuel flexibility using hydrogen, methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, and other inexpensive, easily produced and biodegradable fuels. This is because of their low overpotential for hydrocarbon fuel oxidation and reduced fuel crossover. Professor Yan and UC Riverside have licensed this invention to Full Cycle Energy, a California startup company that is pushing this low-cost, high-durability fuel cell technology. Currently Full Cycle is commercializing another of Yan’s inventions, a platinum nanotube fuel cell catalyst (PtNT) that reduces cost by two-thirds and increases durability by a factor of 10. Production of PtNT is currently being scaled up for integration into a range of fuel cell products. Contact: Professor Yushan Yan, Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California, USA. Tel: +1 951 827 2068, Email: [email protected], Web: www.cee.ucr.edu Full Cycle Energy: http://fullcycleenergy.com
October 2009
RESEARCH
AIST demos high-power, low-temperature SOFC
R
esearchers in Japan have demonstrated a high-performance micro solid oxide fuel cell that operates at lower temperatures, thanks to a restructured electrode. The tube-shaped miniature SOFC has a reported power output of about 1 W/cm2 at 600°C, compared with conventional SOFCs which operate at temperatures above 700°C. The cell is suitable for portable power sources, which require quick startup, as well as auxiliary power for automotive applications, says Toshio Suzuki, a research scientist at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology (AIST). Suzuki led the development of the new fuel cell with colleagues at AIST’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, and the Fine Ceramics Research Association in Nagoya. The work was reported recently in Science [DOI: 10.1126/science.1176404]. Suzuki’s group created a power source with a lower operating temperature by improving the structure of the anode, where the fuel comes 10
Fuel Cells Bulletin
in. The group used conventional techniques – including lithography and etching – to make anodes with varying degrees of porosity. The cell is about 2 mm in diameter. The best-performing anode was a very porous structure based on nickel oxide, a conventional material for these electrodes. Suzuki says they chose to use existing materials because their performance over time has been proven. ‘These are reliable materials for long-term stability, and have a cost advantage compared with other new materials for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells,’ he explains. ‘The performance is no doubt quite good,’ says Harry Tuller, professor of ceramics and electronic materials at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ‘This is a nice systematic study showing the evolutionary impact of demonstrated improvements [in the electrode],’ he says in a commentary in the MIT Technology Review. However, Tuller cautions that the electrodes and the electrolyte are doped with small amounts of expensive materials, which could add expense to the cells. The anode contains, in addition to nickel oxide, a small amount of the rare element scandium. Eric Wachsman, director of the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy and chair of materials science and engineering at the University of Florida, adds that it is difficult to bring down the operating temperature of such fuel cells without compromising on power output. He is also working on new SOFC electrode structures. Using a different set of materials and a similar approach, Wachsman recently demonstrated a fuel cell with a restructured anode and a new electrolyte for a power output of 2 W/ cm2 at 650°C. This work is described in Electrochemistry Communications [DOI: 10.1016/j.elecom.2009.05.041]. Suzuki says his group is in discussions with several companies about commercializing the micro SOFCs. Contact: Toshio Suzuki, Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology, Nagoya, Japan. Email: [email protected], Web: http://unit.aist. go.jp/amri/en
Alkaline membrane promises affordable fuel cells
R
esearchers at the University of California – Riverside have developed a low-cost alkaline membrane that uses non-precious metal fuel cell
catalysts composed of cobalt, nickel, iron, and silver rather than very expensive platinum. One of the reasons why fuel cells are so costly is because they require platinum and other precious metals as catalysts. The best way to eliminate platinum while maintaining its many benefits is through the use of a high-performance hydroxide exchange membrane, the equivalent of Nafion® for an alkaline fuel cell. Professor Yushan Yan of UC Riverside and his associates – including Professor Gaohong He at Dalian University of Technology in China – recently demonstrated a power density of 250 mW/cm2 using an alkaline membrane composed of quaternary phosphonium-based polymers. The team expects to improve on this in the near future, according to a ChemicalOnline.com report. The researchers reported on the synthesis of this ionomer – a polysulfone-methylene phosphonium hydroxide – in the German journal Angewandte Chemie [DOI: 10.1002/ anie.200990181]. They also described its method of action, which is based on creating a three-phase boundary in the catalyst layer. By switching from an acidic medium to a basic one, hydroxide (OH–) exchange membrane fuel cells (HEMFCs) have the potential to solve the problems of catalyst cost and durability, while achieving high power and energy density. In a basic environment, the cathode oxygen reduction overpotential can be significantly reduced, leading to high fuel cell efficiency, and non-precious metals can be used as catalysts – which are also more durable in a basic medium. Furthermore, HEMFCs can offer fuel flexibility using hydrogen, methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, and other inexpensive, easily produced and biodegradable fuels. This is because of their low overpotential for hydrocarbon fuel oxidation and reduced fuel crossover. Professor Yan and UC Riverside have licensed this invention to Full Cycle Energy, a California startup company that is pushing this low-cost, high-durability fuel cell technology. Currently Full Cycle is commercializing another of Yan’s inventions, a platinum nanotube fuel cell catalyst (PtNT) that reduces cost by two-thirds and increases durability by a factor of 10. Production of PtNT is currently being scaled up for integration into a range of fuel cell products. Contact: Professor Yushan Yan, Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California, USA. Tel: +1 951 827 2068, Email: [email protected], Web: www.cee.ucr.edu Full Cycle Energy: http://fullcycleenergy.com
October 2009