Chinese scientists boost hydrogen fuel cell power fourfold with new design

Chinese scientists have developed a way to generate a fourfold increase in power output of hydrogen fuel cells, an advance that could broaden their use from road vehicles to space missions.

Hydrogen is widely viewed as a promising clean energy source for a low-carbon future. Fuel cells convert the chemical energy in hydrogen directly into electricity, producing water as their only exhaust.

In a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science on Thursday, researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology reported a major advance in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), the type already used in many hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Li Jie, assistant professor with BIT and one of the paper’s authors, said on Thursday that, with the new tech, the “power stack of a fuel cell vehicle can be made smaller and lighter, and the vehicle can get stronger continuous output and a longer driving range”.