A University of Alberta research team has provided scientists with the first internal images throughout an operating hydrogen fuel cell, paving the way for design improvements and increased efficiency. Dr. Steven Bergens and Dr. Rod Wasylishen from the Department of Chemistry led the team, which produced images revealing how water behaves inside hydrogen fuel cells.
"This is the first time anybody has simultaneously observed the water in all parts of an operating fuel cell," stated Bergens. "It’s interesting because you can have all the high-tech science you can dream of in a fuel cell, but form just one drop of water in the wrong place, and it’s a bad day. This is an incredibly simple, but complicated problem."
A major problem in hydrogen fuel cell development lies in the creation of that water, the energy source's only byproduct. Problems arise when too much water is created, blocking tiny channels the hydrogen and oxygen travel along inside the fuel cells. Increasing the flow of oxygen is one possible solution, but there's a wrinkle -- greater flow of oxygen (air) would cool the cell and dehydrate the membrane, which must remain moist in order for protons to pass through it.
The University has been getting e-mails from labs around the world that want to work on the new research, including Ballard Power Systems. The idea now is to design an even smaller fuel cell which will, in turn, provide a clearer picture of what goes on inside working fuel cells.
