Companies collaborate on hydrogen fuel-cell development
Two UK companies are collaborating on the development of a hydrogen fuel cell that would be more efficient and cheaper to manufacture than conventional fuel cells.
With the help of a £500,000 grant from the Carbon Trust, ACAL Energy is hoping to combine technology from its low-cost proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell with technology from ITM Power’s high-power density fuel cell.
The next-generation fuel cell is expected to be ready for use in automotive applications after 2020.
Amanda Lyne, co-founder and strategic business development manager, said: ‘ACAL Energy’s fuel-cell technology is quite different to conventional PEM fuel-cell technology because we use a liquid redox catalyst system for the cathode. We get rid of about 80 per cent of the platinum as a consequence.’
This significant reduction in platinum is the key cost-reducing factor. ‘ACAL Energy’s fuel cell is about 40 per cent cheaper than the best mass-produced fuel cells of the future,’ said Lyne.
The collaborative effort will see ITM Power’s membrane electrode assembly (MEA) incorporated into ACAL Energy’s fuel cell to further enhance the efficiency and power density of its cell.
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Comment: The UK is closer to deindustrialisation than reindustrialisation
"..have been years in the making" and are embedded in the actors - thus making it difficult for UK industry to move on and develop and apply...