May 15, 2019 Vol. 16 No. 10

Engineers at the University of Waterloo say they’ve made a significant breakthrough in fuel-cell technology, making it cheap enough to displace the good old internal-combustion gasoline engine. And their new fuel cell, which doesn’t necessarily depend on hydrogen, it seems, is said to last 10 times longer than current versions. Or more.

The result could be financial viability compared to the presently rather expensive fuel cell, and thus a more practical way to power hybrid electric vehicles without the need for internal-combustion range-extender engines. That’s the first likely use, and while the target is presently cars, there’s no reason to think that trucks won’t enter the picture at some point. In fact, they’re likely a better application for fuel cells.

The research is being done at the university’s Fuel Cell and Green Energy Laboratory in Waterloo, Ont. It’s headed by Professor Xianguo Li, a very prominent proponent of green energy development and the chair of the Advanced Energy Systems Division of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering. He and three colleagues recently published their research in the international journal Applied Energy which was then reported by Science Daily.

“With our design approach, the cost could be comparable or even cheaper than gasoline engines,” says Xianguo Li. “The future is very bright. This is clean energy that could boom. We have found a way to lower costs and still satisfy durability and performance expectations. We’re meeting economic targets while providing zero emissions for a transportation application.”

Researchers hope the introduction of fuel cells in hybrid vehicles will lead to mass production and lower unit costs, reports Science Daily. That could pave the way for the replacement of both batteries and gas engines entirely by providing an affordable, safe, dependable, clean source of electrical power.

“This is a good first step, a transition to what could be the answer to the internal combustion engine and the enormous environmental harm it does,” said Li.

GERMAN PLATOONING DEMO A SUCCESS. A platooning project conducted in Germany jointly by global logistics supplier DB Schenker, MAN Truck & Bus, and Fresenius University of Applied Sciences has demonstrated that the electronically linked system is “safe, technically reliable, and easily applicable in the routine of a logistics company,” according to the three pilot partners.

The co-operative venture was established in May 2017 and the trucks were delivered in February 2018.