“The Cost Dilemma of Fuel CellsThe problem, Burke Stevens stated, is that fuel cells generally rely on a driver– loaded with pricey platinum group metals (PGM)– that enhances the chemical response that makes the system work. That led Burke Stevens and her coworkers to search for ways to make the driver less expensive, however making such an essential modification to a fuel cells chemistry is a daunting obstacle: Scientists frequently discover a driver that works in their small laboratory setup does not work out so well when a business attempts it in a real-world fuel cell.This time, the scientists balanced expenses, by partially changing PGMs with a more affordable option, silver; but the genuine secret was to simplify the chemical recipe for getting the catalyst onto the cells electrodes.An illustration of a silver-palladium thin film deposited on a permeable carbon electrode, which scientists believe could make hydrogen fuel cells easier and less pricey to produce. Together, the 2 groups discovered that by replacing less expensive silver for some of the PGMs utilized in previous catalysts, they could attain an equally efficient fuel cell with a much lower cost tag– and now that they have a tested method of developing catalysts, they can begin testing more ambitious concepts.
“The Cost Dilemma of Fuel CellsThe issue, Burke Stevens stated, is that fuel cells typically rely on a catalyst– loaded with expensive platinum group metals (PGM)– that boosts the chemical reaction that makes the system work. That led Burke Stevens and her associates to browse for methods to make the catalyst less expensive, however making such a basic change to a fuel cells chemistry is a daunting challenge: Scientists frequently find a catalyst that works in their little laboratory setup doesnt work out so well when a business tries it in a real-world fuel cell.This time, the researchers well balanced expenses, by partly replacing PGMs with a less expensive alternative, silver; however the genuine secret was to simplify the chemical recipe for getting the driver onto the cells electrodes.An illustration of a silver-palladium thin movie transferred on a permeable carbon electrode, which scientists believe could make hydrogen fuel cells much easier and less pricey to produce. Together, the two teams found that by replacing less expensive silver for some of the PGMs utilized in previous catalysts, they could accomplish an equally efficient fuel cell with a much lower price tag– and now that they have a tested approach of developing catalysts, they can start checking more ambitious concepts.
