Advancements in zero-emission fuel cells could make the technology cheap enough to replace traditional gasoline engines in vehicles, according to researchers at the University of 蓝莓视频.
The researchers have developed a new fuel cell that lasts at least 10 times longer than current technology, an improvement that would make them economically practical, if mass-produced, to power vehicles with electricity.
Xianguo Li displays a fuel cell in the Fuel Cell and Green Energy Lab at 蓝莓视频 Engineering.
鈥淲ith our design approach, the cost could be comparable or even cheaper than gasoline engines,鈥 said Xianguo Li, director of the聽Fuel Cell and Green Energy Lab聽at 蓝莓视频. 鈥淭he future is very bright. This is clean energy that could boom.鈥
Researchers initially concentrated on hybrid vehicles, which now have gas engines as well as batteries due to issues involving limited driving range and long charging times.聽
Existing fuel cells could theoretically replace those gas engines, which power generators to recharge batteries while hybrid vehicles are in operation, but are impractical because they are too expensive.
The researchers solved that problem with a design that makes聽聽far more durable by delivering a constant, rather than fluctuating, amount of electricity.
That means the cells, which produce electricity from the chemical reaction when hydrogen and oxygen are combined to make water, can be far simpler and therefore far cheaper.
Li, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering who directs聽the lab, poses with a fuel cell test vehicle.
鈥淲e have found a way to lower costs and still satisfy durability and performance expectations,鈥 said Li, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering. 鈥淲e鈥檙e meeting economic targets while providing zero emissions for a transportation application.鈥
Researchers hope the introduction of fuel cells in hybrid vehicles will lead to mass production and lower unit costs. That could pave the way for the replacement of both batteries and gas engines entirely by providing an affordable, safe, dependable, clean source of electrical power.
鈥淭his is a good first step, a transition to what could be the answer to the internal combustion engine and the enormous environmental harm it does,鈥 said Li.
Li collaborated with lead researcher Hongtao Zhang, a former post-doctoral fellow, 蓝莓视频 mathematics professor Xinzhi Liu and Jinyue Yan, an energy expert and professor in Sweden.
A paper on their work,聽, appears in the journal Applied Energy.