Michigan chemists build better hydrogen trap

• Book ID: 104435658
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 78 KB
• Volume: 2006
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1464-2859
• DOI: 10.1016/s1464-2859(06)70908-7

✦ Synopsis

January 2006

Fuel Cells Bulletin 11 efficient. High capital costs, lifetime performance and the inability to handle intermittent and varying loads are also current drawbacks.

CSIRO is developing a solid-state system based on polymer electrolyte membranes for on-demand, distributed hydrogen production. At present the unit runs on mains power, but researchers are investigating how to power it with renewable energy, such as solar and wind.

The hydrogen generated can be stored for long periods and converted to electricity when needed. The ability to generate energy on-site and on-demand would reduce up-front infrastructure costs. Badwal says the team is still in the R&D stage, but it 'would like to have a commercial partner on board, as full-scale commercialization is three to four years away.