2-in-1 device also uses supercapacitor to store energy that could power computers and smartphones
UCLA researchers have designed a device that can use solar energy to inexpensively and efficiently create and store energy, which could be used to power electronic devices, and to create hydrogen fuel for eco-friendly cars.
The device could make hydrogen cars affordable for many more consumers because it produces hydrogen using nickel, iron and cobalt — elements that are much more abundant and less expensive than the platinum and other precious metals that are currently used to produce hydrogen fuel.
“Hydrogen is a great fuel for vehicles: It is the cleanest fuel known, it’s cheap and it puts no pollutants into the air — just water,” said Richard Kaner, the study’s senior author and a UCLA distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and of materials science and engineering. “And this could dramatically lower the cost of hydrogen cars.”
The technology, described in a paper in the journal Energy Storage Materials, could be especially useful in rural areas, or to military units serving in remote locations.
“People need fuel to run their vehicles and electricity to run their devices,” Kaner said. “Now you can make both electricity and fuel with a single device.”
It could also be part of a solution for large cities that need ways to store surplus electricity from their electrical grids.
“If you could convert electricity to hydrogen, you could store it indefinitely,” said Kaner, who also is a member of UCLA’s California NanoSystems Institute.
Traditional hydrogen fuel cells and supercapacitors have two electrodes: one positive and one negative. The device developed at UCLA has a third electrode that acts as both a supercapacitor, which stores energy, and as a device for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, a process called water electrolysis. All three electrodes connect to a single solar cell that serves as the device’s power source, and the electrical energy harvested by the solar cell can be stored in one of two ways: electrochemically in the supercapacitor or chemically as hydrogen.
The device also is a step forward because it produces hydrogen fuel in an environmentally friendly way. Currently, about 95 percent of hydrogen production worldwide comes from converting fossil fuels such as natural gas into hydrogen — a process that releases large quantities of carbon dioxide into the air, said Maher El-Kady, a UCLA postdoctoral researcher and a co-author of the research.
? Video: Kaner and El-Kady speak about their research on PBS’s “Nova”
“Hydrogen energy is not ‘green’ unless it is produced from renewable sources,” El-Kady said. He added that using solar cells and abundantly available elements to split water into hydrogen and oxygen has enormous potential for reducing the cost of hydrogen production and that the approach could eventually replace the current method, which relies on fossil fuels.
Combining a supercapacitor and the water-splitting technology into a single unit, Kaner said, is an advance similar to the first time a phone, web browser and camera were combined on a smartphone. The new technology may eventually lead to new applications that even the researchers haven’t considered yet, Kaner said.
The researchers designed the electrodes at the nanoscale — thousands of times thinner than the thickness of a human hair — to ensure the greatest surface area would be exposed to water, which increases the amount of hydrogen the device can produce and also stores more charge in the supercapacitor. Although the device the researchers made would fit in the palm of your hand, Kaner said it would be possible to make larger versions because the components are inexpensive.
“For hydrogen cars to be widely used, there remains a need for a technology that safely stores large quantities of hydrogen at normal pressure and temperature, instead of the pressurized cylinders that are currently in use,” said Mir Mousavi, a co-author of the paper and a professor of chemistry at Iran’s Tarbiat Modares University.
Learn more: Hydrogen cars for the masses one step closer to reality, thanks to UCLA invention
The Latest on: Hydrogen production and storage
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Hydrogen production and storage” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]- World’s first hydrogen station for commercial trucks opens – is it too late?on April 27, 2024 at 7:58 am
FirstElement Fuels has opened the world's first large-scale hydrogen fueling station for heavy-duty commercial trucks at Port of Oakland.
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries begins testing solid oxide electrolyzer cell for hydrogen productionon April 26, 2024 at 6:01 pm
The SOEC test module includes multiple cartridges of 500 cell stacks bundled together. MHI said results will be used to support higher output and capacity.
- Really Cold Hydrogen Could Bring Driving Range Parity with Dieselon April 26, 2024 at 3:33 pm
The time it takes to fuel a hydrogen-powered fuel cell truck is already on par with diesel. But there is still a yawning gap when it comes to comparable driving range.
- 6 Best Green Hydrogen Stocks and ETFs to Watchon April 26, 2024 at 12:33 pm
Green hydrogen is made with renewably generated electricity used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen using a tool called an electrolyzer. Fuel cells essentially perform the reverse operation to ...
- California Welcomes First Big-Rig Hydrogen Fuel Station in U.S.on April 26, 2024 at 9:08 am
The country’s first commercial hydrogen fuel station for big-rig trucks is up and running at the Port of Oakland, a step toward what hydrogen proponents see as a clean new future for long-haul ...
- Researchers produce thinnest sheet of metal ever using a 100-year old Japanese technique — Goldene could pave way for super catalysts, ultra high density optical storage and ...on April 25, 2024 at 9:31 pm
Shun Kashiwaya, a researcher at the Materials Design Division at LiU, explains, "If you make a material extremely thin, something extraordinary happens. As with Graphene, the same thing happens with ...
- Green Hydrogen Development and Site Controlon April 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The several means of hydrogen production are classified colloquially by color ... For example, whereas wind projects tend to pay royalty rents, solar and battery storage facilities more typically pay ...
- Advanced technologies drive green hydrogen investment in the Middle Easton April 24, 2024 at 9:40 pm
Palladium plays key role in advancing hydrogen production technologies . Advanced technologies drive green hydrogen investment in the Middle East . Green hydrogen Utilities ...
- The first big-rig hydrogen fuel station in the U.S. opens in Californiaon April 24, 2024 at 3:00 am
The Port of Oakland is home to the United States' first commercial hydrogen fuel station for big-rig trucks. It's a step on the road to cleaner trucking.
- Advanced Hydrogen Producing Equipment Wins Top Prize and $1 Million in TERA-Award Competitionon April 22, 2024 at 7:18 am
The results of the third TERA-Award Smart Energy Innovation Competition, hosted by Towngas, have been announced in Hong Kong. The Gold Award and a prize of US$1 million were won by a project of ...
via Google News and Bing News