SOFC: the other fuel cell.Use the words "fuel cells" in the auto industry, and the discussion will turn toward proton exchange membrane A proton exchange membrane (PEM) is a semipermeable membrane generally made from ionomers and designed to conduct protons while being impermeable to gases such as oxygen or hydrogen. (PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) A standard for secure e-mail on the Internet. It supports encryption, digital signatures and digital certificates as well as both private and public key methods. Not widely used, work on PEM later evolved into S/MIME. See MIME. ) units that use hydrogen to create electricity. But there's that other type of fuel cell: SOFC SOFC Solid Oxide Fuel Cell , or solid oxide fuel cells, and it's not laying down. SOFCs, according to William Dawson, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of NexTech Materials, Ltd. (Lewis Center, OH; www.nextechmaterials.com), run on a variety of fuels that can be broken down to a feed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide carbon monoxide, chemical compound, CO, a colorless, odorless, tasteless, extremely poisonous gas that is less dense than air under ordinary conditions. It is very slightly soluble in water and burns in air with a characteristic blue flame, producing carbon dioxide; : gasoline, diesel, ethanol, E85, and compressed natural gas Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a substitute for gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel. It is considered to be an environmentally "clean" alternative to those fuels. It is made by compressing natural gas (which is mainly composed by methane (CH4 . These are fuels that, unlike hydrogen, are readily available in volume today. Dawson admits, however, that most of the action for SOFCs is in residential heat and power systems and commercial power units for buildings, especially in Europe and Japan. However, he believes, "The road to automotive will probably go through these other markets." He expects the stationary power units will be deployed within the next five years, with the migration to automotive coming five years after that. While PEMs are looked at as a power supply for a vehicle, Dawson says that SOFCs are better thought of as "a battery charger with a range extender See Media Center Extender, bus extender and DOS extender. ." He speculates that, "If advanced battery technologies come along, having a flex-fuel vehicle running on batteries has a lot of advantages over one that runs on hydrogen." When asked whether this isn't applicable to General Motors' E-Flex architecture, he responds, somewhat cryptically, "You wouldn't be the first to think a SOFC would make a nice near-term replacement for the PEM cell in something like the Chevy Volt. You wouldn't be the first." We wonder who was.--CAS [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To learn more about vehicular solid-oxide fuel cells, see: http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/080404.html http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/070105.html http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/06/the-absolute-hy.html |
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