Chemical catalyst boosts fuel cells

A fuel cell technology that relies mostly on a chemical instead of platinum as a catalyst has demonstrated a continuous power output of over 600W.

The technology, known as Flowcath, from Cheshire-based ACAL Energy replaces up to 90 per cent of the current level of platinum catalyst in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell with a low-cost, durable liquid chemical.

ACAL Energy demonstrated that its hydrogen-fuelled short-stack unit is capable of outputting 600W of continuous power. The company plans to deliver more than 1.5kW with a full stack later this summer.

S B Cha, chief executive of ACAL Energy said that the demonstration shows that the company is well on the way to achieving this goal.

‘This unit represents a 20-fold scale up from our last demonstration unit,’ he said. ‘It is a tremendous achievement by our very talented team of engineers and scientists and a key step towards commercialisation of the technology.’

When fully developed, fuel-cell systems using Flowcath will be marketed as an alternative to diesel and gasoline generators in stationary and transportation applications requiring between 1 and 200kW of electrical power.