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Engineering Breakthrough Opens Door to Cheap Hydrogen Power
A new type of solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has been engineered by researchers, opening the door to cheap and accessible hydrogen power. This breakthrough could bring an alternative to fossil fuels a significant step closer to widespread implementation.
Hydrogen fuel cells are notoriously difficult and expensive to manage, which is why they’re not yet commonly used. However, the new invention promises to change this. By significantly reducing the operating temperature of the SOFC, the team has overcome one of the major hurdles preventing mass production.
The innovation revolves around re-engineering the electrolyte, a ceramic layer composed of different atomic structures arranged in a crystal lattice. Typically, hydrogen fuel cells must operate under extremely high temperatures to function effectively. The researchers aimed to bypass this issue by using chemical dopants – substances added to manipulate a material’s physical properties – in combination with an appropriate oxide crystal.
The team discovered that adding scandium atoms to barium stannate and barium titanate at 572 degrees Fahrenheit led to efficiency levels comparable to existing SOFCs operating at much higher temperatures.
Source: gizmodo.com
