Cellula Robotics Proves fully submerged Envoy AUV Exceeds 2,000km powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells

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Cellula Robotics Proves Submerged Endurance as Envoy AUV Exceeds 2,000km with Hydrogen Fuel Cells | UST

Cellula’s Envoy AUV Exceeds 2,000 km Submerged on Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power (original news release) "Fully submerged mission exceeded published performance specification in a non-linear underwater profile representative of real subsea operations"

Credits: Brennstoffzelle unter Wasser: Wasserstoff-U-Boot fährt 2000 km am Stück

New high energy density and low cost fuel cell could enable electric aviation and more

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"... Instead of a battery, the new concept is a kind of fuel cell — which is similar to a battery but can be quickly refueled rather than recharged. In this case, the fuel is liquid sodium metal, an inexpensive and widely available commodity. The other side of the cell is just ordinary air, which serves as a source of oxygen atoms. In between, a layer of solid ceramic material serves as the electrolyte, allowing sodium ions to pass freely through, and a porous air-facing electrode helps the sodium to chemically react with oxygen and produce electricity.

In a series of experiments with a prototype device, the researchers demonstrated that this cell could carry more than three times as much energy per unit of weight as the lithium-ion batteries used in virtually all electric vehicles today. ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• A liquid sodium-humidified air fuel cell using a solid electrolyte is demonstrated

• Stack-level energy density reaches 1,200 Wh/kg (1,295 Wh/L) at 80 mA/cm2

• Continuous operation consumes up to 2.3-cm-thick Na metal (2,500 mAh/cm2)

• The sodium hydroxide discharge product spontaneously captures atmospheric CO2

Summary

Alkali metal-air batteries have exceptional theoretical energy densities but suffer from poor rechargeability and low power largely due to the formation of solid discharge products.

An alternative concept demonstrated here is a liquid sodium metal-air fuel cell incorporating a solid electrolyte membrane, wherein controlled humidification of the air stream continuously removes sodium hydroxide discharge product as a deliquesced liquid.

This fuel cell reaches stack-level energy densities of 1,200 Wh/kg (1,295 Wh/L) at 80 mA/cm2 and 1,540 Wh/kg (1,760 Wh/L) at 40 mA/cm2 current density, while consuming up to 2.3-cm thickness of sodium metal (2,500 mAh/cm2 areal capacity) in continuous operation.

The sodium hydroxide discharge product also readily captures ambient CO2. Combined with the high planetary abundance and low cost of sodium, the sodium-air fuel cell may be a more sustainable power source for hard-to-decarbonize transportation and stationary electrical power applications."

New fuel cell could enable electric aviation | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

‘Crazy idea’ proposed for high density, low cost fuel cell

Sodium-air fuel cell for high energy density and low-cost electric power (open access)

Graphical abstract

Ultrathin fuel cell uses the body’s own sugar to generate electricity for future medical implants

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"Engineers at MIT and the Technical University of Munich ... have designed a new kind of glucose fuel cell that converts glucose directly into electricity. The device is smaller than other proposed glucose fuel cells, measuring just 400 nanometers thick, or about 1/100 the diameter of a human hair. The sugary power source generates about 43 microwatts per square centimeter of electricity, achieving the highest power density of any glucose fuel cell to date under ambient conditions. ...
The team is not the first to conceive of a glucose fuel cell, which was initially introduced in the 1960s and showed potential for converting glucose’s chemical energy into electrical energy. But glucose fuel cells at the time were based on soft polymers and were quickly eclipsed by lithium-iodide batteries, which would become the standard power source for medical implants, most notably the cardiac pacemaker. ..."

From the abstract:

"Next-generation implantable devices such as sensors, drug-delivery systems, and electroceuticals require efficient, reliable, and highly miniaturized power sources. Existing power sources such as the Li–I2 pacemaker battery exhibit limited scale-down potential without sacrificing capacity, and therefore, alternatives are needed to power miniaturized implants. This work shows that ceramic electrolytes can be used in potentially implantable glucose fuel cells with unprecedented miniaturization. Specifically, a ceramic glucose fuel cell—based on the proton-conducting electrolyte ceria—that is composed of a freestanding membrane of thickness below 400 nm and fully integrated into silicon for easy integration into bioelectronics is demonstrated. In contrast to polymeric membranes, all materials used are highly temperature stable, making thermal sterilization for implantation trivial. A peak power density of 43 µW cm−2, and an unusually high statistical verification of successful fabrication and electrochemical function across 150 devices for open-circuit voltage and 12 devices for power density, enabled by a specifically designed testing apparatus and protocol, is demonstrated. The findings demonstrate that ceramic-based micro-glucose-fuel-cells constitute the smallest potentially implantable power sources to date and are viable options to power the next generation of highly miniaturized implantable medical devices."

Ultrathin fuel cell uses the body’s own sugar to generate electricity | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Engineers have developed a glucose power source that could fuel miniature implants and sensors.

A Ceramic-Electrolyte Glucose Fuel Cell for Implantable Electronics (open access)

Start-up Hyzon kündigt 140-Tonnen Brennstoffzellen-Lkw an

Good news! Yes, fuel cells might be a better solution than electric cars! Stop government subsidies for electric vehicles!

"Hyzon setzt auf Wasserstoff als Energielieferant. Die Brennstoffzellen kommen von Horizon Fuel Cell aus Singapur [nicht Deutschland]. Das Unternehmen ist seit 2003 in diesem Sektor tätig. ... Für 2020 plant das Unternehmen mit einem Bus für die Stadt – basierend auf einer bestehenden Bus-Plattform. Weiterhin ist ein Schwerlast-Lkw geplant. Die Stadtbusse sowie Lkw sollen Ende des Jahres mit einem Gesamtgewicht von 15 bis 40 Tonnen am Markt angeboten werden."

Start-up Hyzon kündigt 140-Tonnen Brennstoffzellen-Lkw an - ingenieur.de: Hyzon Motors Inc. setzt als Newcomer auf den Brennstoffzellenantrieb und plant Wasserstoff als Energielieferant zu etablieren. Was das Start-up noch vorhat.