In the technical race of electric vehicles, batteries are currently surpassing fuel cells. Lithium batteries are getting cheaper and cheaper, and fuel cells are still hampered by expensive short-lived platinum catalysts. A Chinese researcher 's progress in Nature today shows that adding a little platinum – albeit a novel form – can help fuel cell vehicles catch up.

A report by the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei also shows that China is catching up with fuel cell leaders such as Japan and South Korea. Chinese automakers already have most of the world's battery appliances, and the government is keen to see them dominate the fuel cell. According to the British " Financial Times" report , last year Beijing and local governments provided $12.4 billion in subsidies for fuel cell vehicles .

The platinum catalyst drives the core reaction of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (the one used in the car) to maintain its circuit - the same reaction produces water dripping from the vehicle exhaust pipe. Junling Lu , a professor at the Hefei Microscale Physical Science Laboratory at the University of Science and Technology of China , said they have found a way to protect these platinum catalysts from the ubiquitous pollutants: carbon monoxide. It binds tightly to platinum and prevents catalysis.

Carbon monoxide is present because most hydrogen fuels are produced from hydrocarbon fuels. Even after expensive purification, hydrogen fuels contain up to 0.2 parts per million of carbon monoxide (CO). Over time, it accumulates on the catalyst, slowing down the reaction of the fuel cell, and every time a fuel cell car starts up in cold weather, it will appear "poisoned" snowballs. “Even the highest level of hydrogen contains traces of CO, which ultimately deactivates the fuel cell electrodes,” Lu said.

Lu and his colleagues found a solution by designing a new catalyst - platinum oxide particles - iron oxide - that can quickly burn CO in hydrogen. The catalyst selectively converts CO to harmless CO 2 and, critically, it functions over a wide temperature range. Their tests confirmed that CO was reduced by a factor of 200 between -75 and 107 degrees Celsius, which he said was a significant improvement over previous CO selective catalysts. “All catalysts in the literature operate only above room temperature,” Lu said.

In the short term, Lu imagined their catalysts extend the life of expensive stacks of fuel cell vehicles. On the way, he said that on-board fuel cleaning could allow the use of low-cost hydrogen fuel at a price lower than that “everyone can afford”.

“They might have a good solution here and it looks like it can work,” said William Goddard , director of the California Institute of Technology 's Materials and Process Simulation Center , who did not participate in today's advanced fuel cell catalysts. Designer.

That is to say, Goddard pointed out that as hydrogen production shifts from stripping fossil fuels to using renewable energy or nuclear energy to apply electrolysis to water, the CO problem will eventually disappear. He added that what is really needed to make fuel cell vehicles competitive is the cheaper catalysts in fuel cell stacks. The rich platinum stack brings Toyota's Mirai fuel cell sedan up to $85,000 .

The Chinese government seems to expect to achieve this goal in the next decade. By 2030, its plan calls for 1 million fuel cell vehicles to cruise on China's roads. According to the British " Financial Times" report , in order to achieve this goal, it is funding domestic research such as the University of Science and Technology, and provides substantial subsidies for Chinese companies, each car up to 30,000 US dollars, in addition to local subsidies .

In the past two years, some Chinese companies have purchased shares in foreign fuel cell companies and established joint ventures to acquire advanced technology. Recently, in November 2018, China's engine and auto parts manufacturer Weichai Power acquired 20% of Canada's fuel cell pioneer Ballard Power Systems . In a separate transaction, it acquired a 20% stake in British fuel cell manufacturer Ceres Power .

Source: IEE Inspectrum