Hydrogen and Fuel Cells for Transport

Professor Kevin Kendall FRS will talk on "Hydrogen and Fuel Cells for Transport" at the Australian National University in Canberra, 11.00am 7 December 2012 in the Leonard Huxley Lecture Theatre.

Distinguished Lecturer Prof Kevin Kendall FRS

Biography
Prof Kendall received his surface physics PhD in the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge in 1970. After post-docs in Monash and Akron he joined ICI in Runcorn to study polymers and fine particles.  20 years later, he returned to Academe, first in Keele, then in Birmingham in 2000 as Professor of Formulation Engineering.  He was elected FRS in 1993.

Abstract

HYDROGEN & FUEL CELLS FOR TRANSPORT-energy storage problem

Using hydrogen and fuel cells (HFCs) for transport should double the efficiency and reduce emissions to zero, except for water vapour exhaust.  The most famous application is the NASA moon missions where auxiliary power and drinking water were provided by a 10kW alkali stack.  Now that aircraft are going more electric, fuel cells are being investigated but compressed hydrogen is shown to be poor in terms of weight and volume.  For large planes, liquid hydrogen is good, but for small unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) propane is difficult to beat.

Ground transport includes forklifts, bikes, buses and cars.  Here the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is being tested and progress is being made in performance, lifetime and cost. Lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors are beneficial in hybrids.  Compressed hydrogen at 350 and 700 bar is the standard fuel at present. At Birmingham, 5 HFC cars have been tested on campus since the first UK hydrogen filling station was installed there by Prof Kendall in 2008.  The results show that the prototypes beat all combustion cars in fuel economy, largely because of lightweight construction. Surprisingly, the results fitted a Coulomb friction law line. Further improvement of the drive train showed that these cars were ultimately better than all other HFC cars. The race to market in 2015 is now taking place between the major manufacturers
 Tour Details:
Canberra on Friday 7th December 2012
Location: ANU
Leonard Huxley Lecture Theatre - Bld56, End of Mills Road, Acton
Time: 11.00am