For Nina Hjorth, Director of Strategy and Market Development at Ballard Power Systems, there’s one misconception around fuel cells that always stands out to her.
“Some specific individuals like to refer to fuel cells as ‘fool cells’ and keep arguing against the role of hydrogen and fuel cells in the future energy system,” she told H2 View. “To me, it’s not a matter of the one technology over the other; I say that both fuel cells and batteries are two complementary technologies, and both are needed to face our climate challenges and to decarbonise the transport industry.”
“I think that ‘either or’ perception is one of the biggest misconceptions around our technology. It’s a joint effort from several technologies to get us to the end game.”
Fuel cell technology is particularly exciting to Hjorth because of the role it can play in the future of the planet.
“As we look past the near-term headwinds, our future in the fuel cell industry is very attractive,” she enthused. “We in the industry have a unique opportunity to contribute significantly to decarbonisation and pass on a safer and more sustainable planet to our next generation. And this is really what excites me the most about fuel cells.”
Ballard Power Systems is focused on proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Hjorth simply broke down the technology for H2 View and explained how it works: “Our fuel cells consist of a cathode, anode and an electrolyte membrane. The hydrogen is oxidised at the anode and the oxygen is reduced at the cathode.”
“The protons are transported from the anode to the cathode through the electrolyte membrane, and the electrons are then carried over an external circuit. So on the cathode, oxygen then reacts with the protons and electrons, and they produce heat and form hot water or water steams as the only by-product.”
“Our fuel cells are used in a wide range of applications from stationary to heavy-duty vehicles, but our core segments are the heavy-duty segments where we see that our technology is providing the strongest value proposition over other zero emission technologies.”
“In general, you could look at this with looking at the end applications. A fuel cell electric vehicle or vessel is powered by an electric system that includes both a fuel cell and batteries. The fuel cell and batteries work seamlessly together to provide efficient zero emission power.
“Then they are working in hybrid systems that are generally designed so that the fuel cell operates at steady state and the batteries are then sized for transit and power requirements.”
“The fuel cell can replenish the batteries during times when the vehicle or the vessel is at low power, and the maximum power can be delivered when the fuel cells and batteries are working together. Producing power can be delivered by the fuel cell alone.
“Just like batteries, fuel cells produce electricity with very high efficiency through an electrochemical process. The only difference is that with the fuel cell, the energy is stored separately in the form of hydrogen fuel. As long as you have hydrogen fuel available, the fuel cell power system can produce electricity as a generator.”
“You could argue that when fuel cells are fuelled by renewable hydrogen, a fuel cell power system is a true well-to-wheel zero emission power source.”
Find out more about Ballard Power Systems, its’ PEM fuel cells and why Europe is a “strategic” focus for the company in an exclusive interview with Nina Hjorth in H2 View’s March magazine.
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Exclusive: Fuel cells are not 'fool cells' - H2 View
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