Archives: Fuel Cells

Researchers at Oxford University in the UK, have identified a mushroom enzyme called “laccase” that could replace platinum and other precious metals in fuel cells. The fungi fuel cell would be more efficient than traditional metal catalyst FC’s in speeding up the chemical reactions. Laccase typically comes from mushrooms on the ground or found on • Read More »

In case of a terrorist attack or other nationwide emergency situation, Denmark wants to be ready with reliable communications. That is why they have turned to the reliability of hydrogen fuel cells to provide such critical power. A couple of weeks ago I had talked about the EFOY fuel cells powering outlying traffic signals in • Read More »

At a time when the U. S. has lost 600,000 jobs this year, the Department of Energy has reported that 675,000 new jobs in the hydrogen fuel cell market alone could be created in the next 25 years. According to the U. S. DOE, “Commercialization would create jobs in manufacturing, assembly, fuel production, repair, recycling, • Read More »

Supporters of both Barack Obama and John McCain will go toe-to-toe, mano-e-mano over hydrogen fuel cells at the 32nd Fuel Cell Seminar & Exposition (FCS&E) in Phoenix, Arizona October 27th through the 30th. Just one week before the November 4 Presidential election supporters of Obama and McCain will be talking fuel cells and alternative energy • Read More »

Ford Motor Company is now running an experimental process where they are taking paint shop fumes and using them as fuel to run a fuel cell and generate electricity. At its Oakville, Ontario plant just a few miles across the U. S. and Canadian border from Detroit, Ford is capturing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) used • Read More »

The South African government has recently announced an investment of $49 million for research in hydrogen and in fuel cells. The government calls for 80-percent of the money to go towards expertise development and technology and the remaining 20-percent to be allocated for the private sector. The hydrogen research would be geared towards production using • Read More »

With hydrogen cars from Honda, GM, BMW and others hitting the roads, what can be more poetic than traffic signals powered by fuel cells? There are many remote traffic signals on the road that don’t have access to the power grid, so they must use batteries which must be changed quite often. SFC Smart Fuel • Read More »

A reader pointed out to me a couple of days ago that an Allis-Chalmers (AC) tractor actually predated the GM Electrovan as the world’s first fuel cell vehicle. I politely wrote back that the AC tractor ran on propane and not hydrogen. But, I may have been too hasty with this reply, so I did • Read More »

One of the pioneers in the fuel cell industry, Geoffrey Ballard has died. Ballard founded Ballard Power Systems in 1983 as a fuel cell startup willing to usher in the new hydrogen economy. The Canadian-based company has been instrumental in developing hydrogen fuel cells for cars, larger vehicles, stationary applications such as primary or backup • Read More »

Two weeks ago I talked about platinum in catalytic convertors being recycled for fuel cells. What spurred the article was the recent rise in catalytic convertor thefts in order to resell this precious metal. Last week, I mentioned that MIT was developing a new fuel cell using cheaper metals to replace platinum. Today, it appears • Read More »