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Volkswagen Reports Fuel Cell Breakththrough

Volkswagen and Stanford University have just announced a new fuel cell design. The two are calling a big move in reducing the cost of the hydrogen fuel cell car.

One of the big costs associated with the fuel cell design is the large use of platinum. The metal is expensive, but a necessary catalyst in the process of turning hydrogen into electricity.

The new process deposits atoms of platinum on a carbon surface to create extremely thin particles. This leaves more surface area of the platinum exposed and reduces the amount of the material that’s needed because more of the platinum is actually able to do the catalyst work. Volkswagen says that this increases efficiency three-fold makes it more durable and reduces cost.

“This technology opens up enormous possibilities for cost reduction, as the amount of precious metal used is minimized. At the same time, service life and catalyst performance are increased. In addition to the fuel cell, atomic layer deposition also offers a whole range of other applications requiring high-performance materials, such as next-generation lithium-ion batteries,” said Stanford Professor Friedrich Prinz.

It has possibilities for more conventional electrics too. The atomic layer deposition could reduce the number of expensive materials required in lithium-ion batteries as well as other application.

Volkswagen says that the goal now is to turn lab results into mass production.

The post Volkswagen Reports Fuel Cell Breakththrough appeared first on VWVortex.



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