Regulating Fuel Cell Output

Technocrat

Regulating Fuel Cell Output

zogger

Wed Jan 17 19:35:32 -0800 2007

Science.

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A novel approach has been developed for fuel cells that will allow throttling control, as opposed to the on or off approach that they currently use. Being a closed rather than an open system, it also allows 100% power generation from fuel passing through the now regulated in size reaction chamber, a major improvement over existing systems.

"When Princeton University engineers want to increase the power output of their new fuel cell, they just give it a little more gas – hydrogen gas, to be exact. This simple control mechanism, which varies the flow of hydrogen fuel to control the power generated, was previously thought impossible and is a potentially major development in fuel cell technology."......more smooth thinking there

ed: one error in their writeup that I noticed. Small engines are now, in some cases, or soon for the rest, coming with emissions controls.

Regulating Fuel Cell Output

Beryllium Sphere(r)

Thu Jan 18 14:04:33 -0800 2007
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Unless this is simple, reliable, and doesn't compromise the design of the fuel cell in some other way, the answer is still a hybrid. A hybrid has the advantage over a throttlable system that the fuel cell only has to be big enough for average load + margin, not for peak load.
In a motor vehicle, peak load may be over five times cruising load.

Regulating Fuel Cell Output

danielwebb

Sat Jan 20 21:52:24 -0800 2007
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[I was in fuel cell research for 1.5 years] This is very interesting. I'm normally not that optimistic when I see new fuel cell results reported, because there has been a whole lot of hype and not many really interesting improvements in comparison. The way this design is described, it will turn a lot of fuel cell design assumption on their head. I'm a bit skeptical, but these certainly don't sound like crackpots (fuel cell work has a notorious share of them). I agree that fuel cells still probably aren't the idea energy conversion method for vehicles; even if this advance works, there are still plenty of other problems with them, but it will increase the number of applications where they are practical.