So Where Are The Fuel Cells?

prostoalex writes: "While fuel cells have been touted as a revolutionary innovation for the electronics industry, they have not hit the market yet. This article in eWeek talks about the current problems with fuel cells, and claims that 'these devices, designed to last as much as 10 times longer than a standard lithium-ion battery, should hit the market by 2004.'" There are a few fuel-cell devices on the market, but this article points out a few reasons they're not yet more widespread.

Comments

Why don't they join forces...?

[G0SP0DAR]

I've heard about fuel cells powering the 21st Century about as long as I've heard that I should have gotten a flying car for my birthday last year. First things first. Fuel cells have a lot of potential, but why waste all that extra energy on an Intel-powered notebook? Seriously, why don't the leading developers of fuel cells team up with Transmeta to make an invincible laptop that would blow Dell and Compaq-HP out of the water? That would mark one giant leap for the little guys, who greatly deserve a boost in success right about now.

Not an expert but...

[tcd004]

I do own a fuel cell. To be exact, it's a small direct methanol cell, which runs on a 3% methanol and 97% water solution. I'm damn sure that 3% methanol is not too flamable.

My guess is that the number one thing keeping fuel cells off the mainstream market is the cost of production. Specifically, the poles of the cell have to be made of platinum. Last time I checked platinum isn't too cheap.

Visit

tcd004

What about Flywheels?

[evilviper]

So, are we completely giving up on flywheels? They may not be too mainstream, but they hold the promise of incredibly light devices (at least they can be) with the ability to hold incredible ammounts of energy, and store it with practically no loss, for a very long period.

That would also relieve the long charging times necessecary with batteries (at least they could).

Re:Problem with fuel cells

[legolas]

However, the rate of efficiency is only as good as the efficiency of power used to generate the hydrogen in the first place. If you are using an oil/coal cycle with 20% to create a hydrogen cell with 99% efficiency, your hydrogen cell is only really 20% efficent.

And solar power is certainly not where efficiency can be found. While it would be nice if we could sustain our energy needs with solar/wind/etc., I'm afraid that at our currently increasing rate of consumption, it seems unlikely. (Without, at least, cutting down all the remaining forest for solar cells). When you move to a more northern climate, such as eastern Canada (where I live), the frequent fog, and generally low intensity of sunlight makes this go from unlikely to impossible.

Considering that 1 non-enriched uranium fuel pellet in a Candu reactor can produce more energy than several tons of coal... it seems like something worth looking into.

-legolas.

Re:What about Flywheels? ( see Rosen Motors )

[Locutus]

There once was a US company who built a hybrid car which used a shoe-box sized turbine engine and a small flywheel. They designed both components from scratch and debugged it to the point where they drove the car across country. I don't even think it broke down once (unlike that fuelcell car that just made it's trip x-country and broke down many times).

http://www.awl.com/englishpages/tech_talking_har dw are.htm
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/business/botli ne/fall97 /9_25/Benrosen.html

there were more links a couple of years ago but now many are no longer posted. There used to be a good one with illustrations and pictures. Anyway, none of the Big Three would buy into their design so they closed shop. Capstone still makes compact turbine engines though.....

Could be a good time to auction off the car on ebay?

LoB

Re:Problem with fuel cells

[Paul Komarek]

I can't be sure, but I think you missed the parent post's point. You put a big solar array in some wide-open area near the equator, isolate the hydrogen and oxygen there, and ship the hydrogen and oxygen to coastal areas like Bellinham, WA that only have two seasons (cold rain and warm rain).

Even if solar power is a bad example, the idea is intersting. Distribution of energy is as much of a problem as power generation. For example, losses on distribution power lines are significant.

-Paul Komarek

-Paul Komarek

Re:That's Bullshit.

[7-Vodka]

actually I remember a company in brazil that made very nifty self-sharpening razor blades. Those things lasted a LONG time, measured in years no less.

They were promptly bought out by gillette together with all their patents, then shut down. This was more than a decade ago. I only know this because my grandfather was telling me about it recently, he still has some. To this day I still have to buy razor blades that last for less than a month.

Go figure.

I had the argument about the lightbulb with my physics teacher. I lost. Do some research. Cheap efficient lightbulbs that last for decades aren't hard to produce. The parent poster is right when he says the companies who make lightbulbs aren't interested and destroy anyone who attempts it.

Capitalism in practice does not work like you think. Monopolies and cartels are a dime a dozen in this world, stiffling competition and using power and influence to maintain outdated buisness models.

have not hit the market?

[Lumpy]

I can walk into any Riders Hobby shop and pick up a fuel cell. They are in the educational kits section. It has both a way to generate your own hydrogen+oxygen from a solar cell and then you can run the fuel cell from the gasses you just created to spin a motor.

Granted HIGH power fuel cells and an abundance of hydrogen and a safe way to transport it are not here... but I can buy fuel cells at a regular store all day long.