Breakthrough Fuel Cell Technology Promises Efficient Electric Flight
Electric aircraft to be propelled by fuel cell energy.
In the pursuit of cleaner and more sustainable aviation, a bottleneck has persisted: current batteries fail to store sufficient energy for extended electric flight, including for air taxis. However, a novel fuel cell technology developed by MIT researchers promises a viable alternative, utilizing liquid sodium as fuel for electric flight over extended distances.
Conventional fuel cells rely on hydrogen, ammonia, or methanol; this new design Runs on liquid sodium. A team led by MIT researchers has produced a laboratory prototype that can store three times more energy per kilogram than the lithium-ion batteries common in electric vehicles today. Details of the discovery were published in the journal "Joule."
Professor of materials science and engineering Yet-Ming Chiang, a co-author, likened the idea to a "crazy" one, noting, "If they didn't think it was crazy, I'd be a little disappointed, because if something doesn't seem completely crazy at first, it probably won't be particularly revolutionary."
A Hybrid Battery-Fuel Cell Solution
The innovation lies in the fuel cell's hybrid nature, bridging the gap between a battery and a fuel cell. It behaves like a battery but instead of charging, it refuels, utilizing liquid sodium as fuel. The anode side of the cell simply draws ordinary air, acting as a source of oxygen atoms. A solid ceramic electrolyte layer separates the fuel and air.
Initial experiments revealed that the sodium-air fuel cell boasted an energy density of over 1000 watt-hours per kilogram - three times that of today's lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. The researchers acknowledged, however, that the system would only be viable for regional flights, not extended ones.
Environmental Benefits
An additional advantage is the exploitation of the byproduct. When sodium is used as fuel, sodium oxide is produced as exhaust. If released into the atmosphere, it reacts with CO2 to form soda, capturing harmful greenhouse gases. The system also produces sodium carbonate (baking soda) that, if disposed of in seawater, could help counteract ocean alkalization caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
Safety and Resources
The fuel cell is regarded as relatively safe by the researchers. Sodium, being highly reactive, must be well protected. However, the arrangement of the reagents ensures there are no two concentrated reactants in close proximity. Sodium can be sourced abundantly from salt, reducing dependency on rare materials used in current electric vehicle batteries.
The researchers aim to develop a fuel cell the size of a brick from the current lab prototype, capable of powering a large drone. The first flying prototype is projected to be ready within the next year.
Source: ntv.de, kst
- Aviation
- Innovations
- Electric Mobility
- The novel fuel cell technology developed by MIT researchers, utilizing liquid sodium as fuel for electric flight, could potentially revolutionize the aviation industry.
- The hybrid battery-fuel cell solution, which bridges the gap between a battery and a fuel cell, is innovative in its ability to refuel instead of charging and possesses an energy density three times that of today's lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
- In addition to promising efficient electric flight, this technology also has environmental benefits, such as the capture of harmful greenhouse gases and the potential to combat ocean alkalization caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
