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Fuel for a new economy

Clean, efficient fuel cells, using hydrogen, ethanol, methanol, or natural gas, could replace the internal combustion engine in all types of vehicles and power our homes, businesses, and even handheld appliances. And they offer a new growth industry for a stronger U.S. economy.

No wonder President Bush dramatically strengthened the national commitment to fuel cell research (Jan. 28, 2003 State of the Union address).

Chemists and engineers at Virginia Tech have been bringing fuel cell technology closer to reality for years.

Fuel cells, such as are used by NASA, include platinum and Nafion (a Teflon-like material). To bring the technology down to earth requires

cheaper, better-performing materials that can be easily manufactured,
power conversion systems,
fuel-cell based automotive and building systems, and
a new fuel/power delivery infrastructure.

Materials

Chemistry professor James McGrath's group -- which includes researchers at Los Alamos National Lab and Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as from the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech --  is using inexpensive polymers instead of Nafion.

The group is developing polymers for the proton exchange membranes (PEMs) within fuel cells. In a hydrogen-fueled cell, the PEM passes protons from the energy source into a chamber where they merge with oxygen to produce water and heat as byproducts. The researchers are developing new polymers that can operate at higher temperatures, last longer, and are more conductive than present PEMs. They have also begun to report on processes for manufacturing PEM starting materials. McGrath’s success is being fueled by millions of dollars of research support from government (NSF, DOE, US Army Research Office, and NASA) and industry.

McGrath's group is also determining the optimum PEM materials for a methanol-based fuel cell. Methanol, a liquid, would be easier to dispense using current fuel delivery infrastructure. A simple alcohol, it could provide energy for computers and cell phones, McGrath says. "A container something like an ink jet cartridge would power a cell phone for days instead of hours." Such applications will likely precede automotive use.

While McGrath's group works on fuel cell materials, Virginia Tech engineers are working on systems integration and performance optimization to bring fuel cell technology into everyday use.

Power conversion

Center for Power Electronic Systems researchers and students, led by electrical and computer engineering (ECE) professor Fred Lee, have patented more efficient auxiliary switches and bi-directional power converters for switching between power sources in hybrid electric/fuel cell vehicles. A co-inventor, ECE associate professor Jason Lai has launched the Future Energy Electronics Center (April 03) to focus on fuel cell and distributed energy power conversions. Lai's research is supported by the DOE National Energy Technology Lab and Ballard Power Systems, the largest PEM fuel cell manufacturer. Fuel cells have been donated by American Power Conversion, the largest manufacturer of "uninterruptible power supplies." Nelson and Lai are advising a team to design the fuel cell inverter for the Future Energy Challenge hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) and DOE. "Our major research in ECE is to develop fuel cell power conditioning that converts unregulated dc output from fuel cells to well-regulated ac output with emphases on efficiency and control of energy management," says Lai.

Autos and Homes

Virginia Tech engineering students insert a fuel cell power source into an SUV.

The Center for Automotive Fuel Cell Systems, directed by mechanical engineering (ME) professor Doug Nelson, is focused on the performance and systems integration of fuel cell stacks and associated subsystems in vehicles. Research includes fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle construction, modeling, and testing. Faculty and students study fuel cell propulsion systems performance, efficiency, manufacturing, safety, cost, and reliability/durability. Students have built a hybrid fuel-cell powered SUV that is designed to meet the manufacturer's requirements for power and performance.

The Energy Management Institute (EMI), through the work of ME professor Michael W. Ellis, has developed a guide (Fuel Cells for Building Applications), to help building designers assess the opportunities for using fuel cell systems. About one-third of the fossil fuel energy supplied to a power plant reaches buildings in the form of electricity. The remaining is discharged as waste heat. Fuel cells convert about 40 percent of the input energy and, since a fuel cell system can be located on-site, heat from the system can also be used. "The goal is to create a system that would supply heat, cooling, hot water, and power for a residence," says EMI director Michael von Spakovsky. Ellis and College of Architecture and Urban Studies faculty members are developing a system to produce 8-to-10 kilowatts of power. It would be somewhat larger than a heat pump. Von Spakovsky is developing the tools needed to optimize the design of a system and its operational control strategy to meet the needs of a home or a cluster of homes. Such systems could also function as auxiliary power units in transportation applications.

Meanwhile, chemical engineering professor Don Baird is developing conductive polymer composites and rapid processing techniques for bipolar plates, a necessary component of fuel cell stacks.

Fuel Cell Economy

"To improve fuel cells, we must develop new materials, as well as tools to analyze, predict, optimize, and integrate their design and operation," von Spakovsky remarks. "That's where the research is needed, and that's what we're working on at Virginia Tech."

When will we see a fuel cells in autos, homes, and PC's? Frank Jakob, former fuel cells commercialization manager at Battelle, says "Demand will grow quickly once price targets are met." He points out that concern about emissions and energy security will drive development.

"The expense of catalytic converters did not stop adoption of that technology when clean air became a national mandate.  As the reliability and durability of fuel cell materials improve, the new national commitment to fuel cells -- plus diverging prices between electricity and traditional fuels -- should jump start the production of fuel-cell powered vehicles and the beginnings of companies that produce fuel cells for other applications before the end of the decade, says Jakob, "particularly if high-value, portable power applications, such as direct-methanol fuel cell, have their breakthroughs. The potential market is very large ... if the price points are met."

What will happen to oil?

It will still be needed to make polymers, but less than five percent of the amount used for fuel. And it will take many years to phase out as a fuel. “In fact,” says Jakob, “oil and natural gas will be the predominant source of hydrogen in the early years of fuel cell commercialization.” This recognizes the additional technical problems of getting hydrogen from non-fossil, renewable energy sources, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity used to electrolyze water and bio-mass fuels. “The best place to store hydrogen today is in hydrocarbon fuels that we know how to handle and use safely.” 

Virginia Tech is also doing research to bring PV electricity into everyday use. While evaluating various designs and cell characteristics, the Center for Energy and the Global Environment maintains a solar photovoltaic facility that has supplied a part of the electricity in Whittemore Hall for the last 15 years. The College of Architecture's research and demonstration facility has an active PV array supplying electricity to some of the exterior lighting found on the building. Meanwhile, researchers from physics, chemistry, and chemical engineering and the the Center for Self-Assembled Nanostructures and Devices are working to create organic (carbon based) thin film solar cells that will provide large-area, flexible, lightweight conversion of light into electricity.

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