Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), are working towards creating hydrogen fuel cells with platinum catalysts that could save up to 80% of the raw materials and other supplies needed for their production, said Yu Huang, Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Los Angeles, California, Laureate of the Global Energy Prize at the international conference Regional to Global.
According to her, on the one hand, hydrogen fuel cells are environmentally friendly energy sources because the chemical reaction in the battery produces only water and electricity, without any pollutants.
On the other hand, the cost of hydrogen fuel cells is currently too high, which undermines their competitiveness, compared to other fuels.
“Most of the cost of these hydrogen cells comes from the catalyst used – expensive platinum. So how can we make this technology more affordable? By using less platinum. This is what our lab is working on,” Yu Huang noted.
“In our lab, we are developing various forms of platinum catalysts, trying to make them more active, so that they can catalyze more reactions. Another goal is to make them more durable, so if you buy a fuel cell, it can last much longer. Instead of one year, for example, it can last ten years. This affects the price, making catalysts and cells much more affordable,” the UCLA professor added.
According to her, the catalysts produced in the laboratory can achieve 80% savings in materials. Moreover, platinum usage has been reduced from almost 40 grams to about 6 grams, compared to first-generation catalysts.
“They are scalable and drop-in,” Yu Huang said, emphasizing key features of her solutions.
