Supercapacitors boost the fuel cell car

Abstract

NO matter where you live it cannot have escaped your attention that our planet is struggling. There may be some who are sceptical but most of us can have little doubt that if we do not mend our ways, severe changes of global climate lie ahead. One of the most obvious major contributors to the deteriorating situation are the some 750 million registered vehicles worldwide that emit roughly 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year and contribute 15% to the anthropogenic emissions. In addition to their impact on the global climate, several other facts are motivating car manufacturers to investigate ways of reducing emissions drastically: declining oil reserves, their location in politically unstable regions, and health hazards posed by secondary emissions of nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulates. Today’s most promising solution for these problems would be cars powered by fuel cells with solar hydrogen as the ultimate energy carrier (cf preceeding article).However, a number of obstacles are delaying widespread adoption of this technology including high costs, the weight and volume of today’s fuel cells, security concerns related to hydrogen storage tanks, and the missing infrastructure needed for the production and distribution of hydrogen.