Fuel Cells

By Doug MacPherson on Thursday, July 31, 2003.

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Fuel cells have been touted as the next big thing....the high-tech solution to the world's energy problems.

Many people hope they will replace gasoline in cars and oil in furnaces.

But researchers at the University of New Hampshire are working with a Rochester company to develop fuel cells that would fit in the palm of your hand.

They could become as commonplace as flashlight batteries.

New Hampshire Public Radio's Doug MacPherson reports.

In its simplest form, a fuel cell produces electricity by converting hydrogen and oxygen into water and heat. It?s kind of like a battery that never runs out.
The great thing about a fuel cell is what it doesn?t produce. Cars powered by pure hydrogen fuel cells wouldn?t pollute the air we breath with nitrogen oxides or NOX. And they wouldn?t pollute the atmosphere with carbon dioxide ? the largest single contributor to climate change.
But hydrogen isn?t easy to produce, and once made, it?s not easy to store and distribute.

TAPE Mathur 029 The use of fuel cells in automobiles is very far off. :04

That?s V. K. Mathur, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of New Hampshire. Mathur says that while fuel cell cars are at least a decade away, many hand-held electronics now powered by batteries could soon be powered by fuel cells

TAPE Mathur 034 The small appliances, like cell phones, laptops, computers, these are likely to be in the market very early, maybe within two years. :11

But this kind of miniature fuel cell would have to be strong enough to withstand the daily abuse that cell phones and laptops have to absorb.

TAPE Mathur 113 You need a fuel cell which is very rugged, mechanically, and there you use a very rugged gas diffusion layer. :10

The gas diffusion layer, or g-d-l, is one of the most critical components of a fuel cell, and developing one durable enough for portable use has become a primary focus of Mathur?s research.
The g-d-l is a thin sheet of specially treated paper or fabric that helps produce the electrons that generate power. It must also disperse the water produced as a byproduct. too much water would flood the fuel cell. And finally, it has to last.

TAPE Mathur 169 The life of a gdl is important. Because the cost will depend on it. and the cost is a very important factor of the fuel cell operation. At the moment, fuel cells are very, very expensive. :14

With so much hope invested in fuel cells, many companies see a market in providing better components at lower cost.
One such company is Albany International Techniweave in Rochester, New Hampshire.

TAPE SFX weaving 556 to 559, cross fade to 563 to 565

The factory floor of Albany Techniweave is a sea of thousands of spools of high-tech carbon fibers being fed into antique mechanical looms. Modern machines would weave the delicate threads too fast. Techniweave fabrics find their way into everything from sporting goods to airplanes. Jean Francois Le Costaouec (le-cus-sto-wick), develops new products for the company. Many gas diffusion layers are made of paper. Not surprisingly, Le Costaouec thinks they should be made of?. fabric.

TAPE Le Costaouec 493 This is a sample of the fabric that we do fabricate for the fuel cells. and as you can see it?s an extremely fine fabric. :12 [fade and hold under] //// 497 It?s important that the fabric be extremely fine?.

Le Costaouec says Techniweave?s fabric g-d-l can withstand more abuse and repel more water than a paper version.
The company?s product is still under development, and it needs to undergo constant testing. That?s hard to do in-house.

TAPE Le Costaouec 316 It?s very expensive to set up some such equipment. plus it takes some special knowledge to do it. :06

When Le Costaouec wants to test a new version of a g-d-l, he doesn?t have far to drive. Just down the road at U.N.H, V. K. Mathur?s laboratory contains the only research and development fuel cell facility in New Hampshire. There are a handful of such facilities in Massachusetts; there are none in Vermont and Maine. The tests are done by Mathur?s chemical engineering graduate students, including Jason Morgan of Goffstown.

TAPE Morgan 191 what we?re trying to do is we?re trying to find how much energy you can draw at a peak performance. so, you want to find out how much energy you can produce from the cell. but also we want to look at the durability, to see how long it can hold a certain voltage. :14

Morgan takes small samples of Techniweave?s g-d-l and combines them into something that looks like a small metal sandwich ? the heart of the fuel cell. He pumps in hydrogen and air and measures the voltage that comes out. Morgan then uses a computer to graph the results on a performance curve. Like a surfer in search of the perfect wave, Morgan lives to find the perfect curve.

TAPE Morgan 211 I remember the first time I got a good curve. I was pretty excited b/c we were having trouble generating it and then all of a sudden it just started working. And it was just a great feeling, because then I was like, I?m doing what only a few people in the world can do right now, and that?s generate a good curve. Which is an excellent feeling. :17

In this highly competitive, highly secretive field, Albany Techniweave officials trust V. K. Mathur, and the results his lab produces.

TAPE V. K. Mathur 269 We take the date on various tests, analyze it, and then we feed it to techniweave. Sometimes we also give them suggestions as to how they can improve it. ///And so this is an ideal way of a university and a company working together to produce a product. :18

A product that may soon be available in a store near you.
For NHPR News, I?m Doug MacPherson.