Finland significantly reduces fuel cell costs

Researchers at the University of Aalto in Finland have developed a new method that can reduce the cost of manufacturing fuel cells. Common fuel cells require the use of expensive precious metal powder catalysts to fully react the anode and the fuel, so the high catalyst cost is the biggest obstacle to the widespread use of fuel cells.

Researchers at Aalto University used atomic layer deposition (ALD) to prepare nanoparticle catalysts, making the fuel cell's anode catalyst coating much thinner than before, and reducing catalyst requirements by 60%, significantly reducing costs and improving quality. The results show that the precious metal nanoparticle catalysts prepared by this method have lower catalyst loading compared to current commercial fuel cell catalysts, but can provide similar activity.

Through this research, researchers are developing better fuel cells that use methanol or ethanol as fuel. Alcohol fuels are easier to handle and store than commonly used hydrogen fuels, and palladium catalysts can also be used in methanol fuel cells. Despite the high price of fuel cells, they have already been used in aerospace and other fields and are expected to drive electric vehicles in the future. Fuel cells made using this method may begin commercial production in 5 to 10 years.