{"id":26132,"date":"2022-10-12T10:18:01","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T09:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=26132"},"modified":"2022-10-12T10:18:01","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T09:18:01","slug":"rare-earth-element-catalyst-lowers-cost-of-next-gen-fuel-cells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/rare-earth-element-catalyst-lowers-cost-of-next-gen-fuel-cells\/26132\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare earth element catalyst lowers cost of next-gen fuel cells"},"content":{"rendered":"
The team has developed a novel technique for amalgamating high-cost platinum and low-cost lanthanum to create an alloy that works as a catalyst for advanced fuel cells. The innovation will not only reduce the costs and increase the performance of fuel cell technology, but also enable the decarbonisation of heavy transport vehicles that are less amenable to the use of battery power.<\/p>\n
Batteries are currently the premier technology for powering cars; however, hydrogen fuel cells offer an effective zero-emission alternative for types of transport that find it difficult to swap combustion engines for batteries, such as the weight and volume of batteries required. This is especially true for heavy transport such as aviation, shipping, and long-haul trucking.<\/p>\n
Fuel cells power machines and vehicles by converting the chemical energy of hydrogen into electricity, with the only outputs being water and heat. The most common type of fuel cell used is the alkaline fuel cell \u2013 invented almost a century ago. However, future technology will likely resemble a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell that employs hydrogen to generate electricity whilst being more compact, making it more desirable for heavy transport vehicles.<\/p>\n
To make electrochemical reactions more efficient and reduce the cost of fuel cells to make them competitive with fossil fuels, better catalysts that can speed up these reactions are critical. The challenge is that of all these electrocatalysts that make the chemical reaction possible, platinum is the best and is a scarce and expensive metal. For proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), the high cost of platinum has been a significant barrier to their uptake.<\/p>\n