Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Fuel Cells Made From Hydrogen May Be A Solution 21st Century Energy Challenges

Using hydrogen as an energy vector and in fuel cells may provide solutions to the specific energy challenges of the 21st century. Hydrogen production is currently based on the catalytic properties of “noble” metals such as platinum. For the first time, researchers at the joint Laboratoire de chimie et biologie des métaux (metal chemistry and biology, CEA-CNRS-Université Joseph Fourier, CEA's Grenoble site) have succeeded in producing hydrogen with a molecular system that doesn't require a noble metal catalyst. This outcome has important implications for the financial future of hydrogen energy.

Research to improve hydrogen production is based largely on chemical reactions observed during photosynthesis in plants. More specifically, certain micro-organisms produce hydrogen from water with the help of light. To reproduce and adapt these processes, researchers have developed molecular systems capable of both photosensitisation, which captures light energy, and catalysis, which uses the energy collected to liberate hydrogen from water.

To date, all the technological systems developed to produce or use hydrogen rely on noble metals such as...