Japan's Daihatsu Develops Platinum-Free Fuel Cell
Date: 17-Sep-07
Country: JAPAN
By using alkali, instead of acid, anion exchange membranes,
Daihatsu's fuel cell can work with less costly metals which are
less resistant to corrosion than platinum, such as cobalt or
nickel, Daihatsu said in a statement.
Daihatsu, Toyota Motor Corp's minivehicle unit,
also said its newly developed fuel cell uses hydrazine hydrate,
a liquid industrial material, instead of hydrogen, as an
alternative fuel that emits no carbon dioxide.
The new fuel cell generates power similar to that of
existing hydrogen-based fuel cell, far more than fuel cell using
other liquid fuel, like methanol, the company said.
Now that more countries focus on curbing carbon emissions
and environment protection, major auto makers are involved in
developing fuel-efficient vehicles including those without using
fossil fuels.
"The new technology is giving us diversification in addition
to our existing hydrogen-based fuel-cell technology," said
Naoyuki Wakabayashi, a Daihatsu spokesman.
Currently, Daihatsu uses about 100 grams of platinum per
vehicle in its hydrogen-based fuel-cell vehicles under
development. Ordinary gasoline vehicles use about 5 gram per
vehicle of platinum as a catalyst to filter out carbon monoxide
and particulate emissions.
Cash platinum traded at around US$1,285 per ounce (31
grams) in early European trade on Friday, up more than 10
percent since the start of this year. Platium is mainly used in
jewellery and auto catalyst, and is also considered as
alternative financial assets to stocks and bonds.
Supply-side issues and limited above-ground stocks have made
platinum far more expensive than palladium, another metal
used for autocatalytic converters.