This new low-cost catalyst could be the ideal solution to replace the much more expensive platinum options available today. The cost of using platinum as the catalyst has meant that the cost of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle has been out of reach for the majority of those interested in buying in. The expensive costs of platinum, though, do not carry on to the much cheaper iron. For years, though, finding a way to use iron to replace platinum seemed farfetched.
New research that was carried out by experts at the University of Buffalo might just have found the way to make this possible. Their research has discovered that iron can be combined with a blend of nitrogen and carbon. The end result is a catalyst which is extremely efficient, reliable, affordable, and durable. In short, it ticks all of the boxes needed for a catalyst – and avoids any of the typical pitfalls associated with other non-platinum solutions.
Crucially, this also meets the three-tier criteria of price, strength, and efficiency that the U.S. Department of Energy is looking for in fuel cell research. The lead author of the study, Gang Wu, PhD, said that the results were “years in the making” and is a “significant breakthrough” for hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Building on the promise of hydrogen fuel cells just became more affordable
With this latest breakthrough, swapping for an iron catalyst could help to bring about a proper restructuring of the cost. So long as a fuel can be supplied to these fuel cells, they never have to be recharged, promising zero emissions without the battery wastage that comes with other forms of power.
However, the cost of catalysts was also the main drawback of using fuel cells. It was simply too expensive to make catalysts for vehicles and keep the costs of ownership down. Therefore, to try and recover the cost of ownership and development, fuel cell-powered vehicles have prohibitively expensive for some people.
By switching to iron, though, this could change entirely the affordability equation. While more research and testing are needed, a solution might just have been found in Buffalo, NY. If this can be translated into actionable and effective iron catalysts, the days of overly expensive hydrogen fuel cells could become a thing of the past.
Citation
https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2022/07/006.html