Chemists find path to cheap deployment of hydrogen fuel cells

Newswise — ITHACA, N.Y. – Hydrogen fuel cells—which can efficiently power cars, generators, and even spacecraft with minimal greenhouse gas emissions—are promising, renewable alternatives to combustion engines and other polluting forms of power. But fuel cells remain prohibitively expensive, because they rely upon platinum and other precious metals to keep their electrochemical reactions running efficiently. Cornell University chemists have now discovered a class of nonprecious metal derivatives that can catalyze fuel cell reactions about as well as platinum, at a fraction of the cost.“These less expensive metals will enable wider deployment of hydrogen fuel cells,” said Héctor D. Abruña, professor in the Department of Chemistry at Cornell. “They will push us away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources.”The team’s findings were published in the…

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