Oct 7 2004
PolyFuel, a world leader in engineered membranes for fuel cells, announced today a breakthrough in technology that could ultimately make hydrogen fuel cell-powered automobiles a commercial reality. At the heart of the breakthrough is a new family of membranes – the crucial heart of a fuel cell – that exhibit a set of performance characteristics never before simultaneously achieved in hydrogen–based fuel cells. PolyFuel has already introduced the highest–performing membranes available for the compact, portable, methanol–based fuel cells that are widely being developed to replace batteries in portable electronic devices such as notebook computers and cell phones.
"A commercially–viable fuel cell for automotive applications is sort of the ‘holy grail’ among developers of advanced technology vehicles,” said Atakan Ozbek, director of energy research at ABI Research. “Ideally, you would hope for a solution that yielded vehicles with costs, capabilities, and performance similar to those on the road today. Unfortunately, current fuel cell technology has not yet reached that ideal."
It is a holy grail because the automotive market is huge; 60 million automobiles are produced each year. On the assumption that automotive fuel cells will ultimately meet the stringent requirements demanded by automakers, and once the fuel delivery infrastructure begins to approach reasonable levels, adoption by consumers of the pollution–free vehicles will begin gaining momentum, according to most analysts. But none of this will occur until automotive fuel cells see a step–function improvement in capability.
The principal limitation has always been the fuel–cell membrane, a thin film of sophisticated material resembling plastic wrap that makes fuel cells possible. Since the first practical fuel cells were designed for the Gemini space program nearly 40 years ago, the best available membrane material has been based upon Du Pont’s Teflon® – the same polymer used to coat non–stick cookware – and, as it turns out, used to make the “miracle” fabric Gore–Tex®. These “perfluorinated” membranes, as insiders call them, have resulted in workable fuel cells, but – depending upon the application – the manufacturing cost, the performance, and the reliability of the membrane have always been limitations.
In automotive applications, perfluorinated membranes are currently far too expensive, have to operate at such low temperatures that standard radiators can not be used, need carefully controlled environments (adding complexity and limiting durability), and have inadequate lifetimes. As a result, a fuel cell powered vehicle today would be too costly to compete with either hybrid or internal combustion engine vehicles. In addition, consumers would not have the performance and reliability they have come to expect from motor vehicles. For example, power and top speed would be limited on very hot days, prolonged power uses such as hill climbs, or keeping up on Europe’s high– speed autobahns, would not be possible, and much more routine and unexpected maintenance would be required. These factors have so far kept commercially viable fuel cell automobiles from becoming a reality.
The new technology developed by PolyFuel is expected to mitigate many of these shortcomings. PolyFuel’s membrane technology uses new hydrocarbon–based polymers that show improved operating characteristics over perfluorinated membranes, at substantially reduced cost.
For example, perfluorinated membranes typically require high levels of moisture (humidification) for stable operation. Unlike most perfluorinated membranes, PolyFuel's hydrocarbon membrane technology operates stably at low relative humidity. This means that the fuel cell or automotive manufacturers do not have to add overly complicated and expensive systems to keep the membrane hydrated. Additionally, the PolyFuel hydrocarbon membranes retain stability at an operating temperature of 95°C – a fact that reduces engine cooling system complexities and limitations. Furthermore, PolyFuel hydrocarbon membranes produce 10 to 15 percent more power at real–world operating conditions compared to perfluorinated membranes.
Finally, the manufacturing cost of PolyFuel hydrocarbon membranes is already significantly less than that of perfluorinated membranes, and will go even lower with volume. Currently, it takes about $5000 worth of perfluorinated membrane to make a single fuel cell for a 100 kilowatt (134 horsepower) vehicle. Because the PolyFuel hydrocarbon membrane has fundamental cost advantages over perfluorinated membranes, critical automotive cost targets can be realized much sooner than previously expected.
“PolyFuel has certainly advanced the state of the art,” said Dr. David P. Wilkinson, professor of chemical and biological engineering with the University of British Columbia, and former vice president of research and development for Ballard Power Systems, the world leader in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. “Automakers and fuel cell manufacturers can be expected to react positively and quickly to this announcement.” Canada is considered a world center of excellence for fuel cell research and development, and Wilkinson additionally holds an appointment with the Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation, part of the Canadian government’s guiding National Research Council.
Such ‘quick and positive reaction’ has already occurred, said Jim Balcom, PolyFuel president and CEO. “The minute that such companies review our data, the requests for meetings and test samples come almost instantaneously.”
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