The University of New South Wales (UNSW) believes it has unlocked a key complication with hydrogen fuel cells, paving the way for their commercialisation.
UNSW has managed to make hydrogen fuel cells, which are seen as an ultimate clean-energy source, much more efficient through a cutting-edge approach.
Complications to this point have derived from trapped water inside cells, which blocks the flow of oxygen and restricts performance. The antidote to this has typically been complex, energy-intensive systems which add cost and weight.
UNSW, on the other hand, uses high-precision micro-scale engineering to create ‘escape routes’ for excess water and gas to escape before they build up. This sees microscopic channels – 100 micrometres wide, separated by 100-micrometre micro-ribs – drilled into a cell’s internal architecture.
The escape routes in action:
“There’s usually no way to remove water,” Dr Quentin Meyer from UNSW said. “But these ‘lateral bypasses’ act as escape routes, meaning water no longer accumulates and stops the cell working.
“The redesigned fuel cell achieves 75 per cent more power than traditional designs.”
Professor Peyman Mostaghimi said UNSW was “rethinking hydrogen fuel cells in Australia” through advanced imaging, fluid flow simulations and precision micro-engineering.
It’s a breakthrough that could be applied to a range of applications and bring “cheap, clean and abundant hydrogen energy within our reach”.
Additionally, the new design reduces the need for the incorporation of metals such as platinum, with the system lighter and cheaper.
The UNSW team see applications in aviation and freight, which are currently being impacted by the fuel crisis, with low-altitude aircraft seen as an initial commercialisation opportunity.
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