How do we make hydrogen fuel cells a viable reality? Electrochemistry might hold the answer

This past summer, a commercial passenger ferry powered by a hydrogen fuel cell set sail in the San Francisco Bay. The nation’s first fuel cell-powered ferry, the ship heralds the reality of zeroemission options for our nation’s vast and varied transportation sector.

Hydrogen is an incredibly common element, making up 90% of the universe. Fuel cells are the technology by which we convert hydrogen to useful, emission-free electricity — a crucial part of decarbonizing as a society. Harnessing hydrogen’s power could transform the way we travel and live. But from the perspective of design and affordability, challenges confront fuel cell technology that are hard to overcome.

That’s where Los Alamos National Laboratory comes in. Several disciplines at Los Alamos focus on advancing fuel cells, but my area of interest is applied chemistry — understanding and improving the electrochemical reactions inside the devices that convert hydrogen (the fuel) to electricity, which then powers a machine such as a boat, car or truck. Fuel cells themselves can range from millimeter-sized, lightweight cubes you can hold with two fingers, producing microwatts of power, to much larger stacks that weigh hundreds of pounds, producing megawatts of power.

Read the rest of the story as it appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

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