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An end of the year presentation from sophomore year which summarizes the evolution of my product and the process which I went through to get to that point in my research project.
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Future Alternative Energies:Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Bradley Hallier 5/28/2010
Research Question
• Can I build an effective, cost efficient Hydrogen (PEM) Fuel Cell that can practically replace “non-green” energy sources?
Why Fuel Cells?
• Learn about new technologies• Improve current systems• They’re interesting
What is a Hydrogen Fuel Cell?
• Similar to a battery• HENERGYH+H+OH20 (Nice and
Strickland)
• Does not store energy
http://estarfuturecorp.com/fcworks/FCStack.png
What is a Hydrogen Fuel Cell? (Cont)
http://www.chem.umass.edu/masscrest/fuelingthefuture/images/fuelcell.jpg
Advancement of Research
• Moved from how they work to how to build one
• Initiated contact with researchers• Initiated contact with fuel cell vendors• Searched for Hydrogen Vendors• Began plans for a Hydrogen Production System
Contacting Researchers
• Sent emails asking for help• Mr. Kevin Davies at Georgia Institute of
Technology• Mr. John Turner at Valeswood Fuel Cells• Numerous other individuals willing to
help
Contacting Vendors
• Sent 13 emails to Fuel Cell Distributors • Google searches• Past experience
Vendor Email Structure
• Explained who I am and what I am doing• Used semi-jargon vocabulary and specifics• Asked for anything that could be contributed• Thanked reader for time• Overall short length
Vendor Contact Results
• Surprised at helpfulness• Acquired 1 PEM cell• Received a 5-cell stack• Received lots of help and
recommendations
Obtaining Hydrogen
• Required >99.9% pure• Local distributors carried it
in large tanks at high pressure• Was not cost effective
Isolating Hydrogen Myself
• Forced to obtain it manually• Chose electrolysis over chemical
means• Went through many revisions of an
electrolyzer
Electrolyzer Design 1
Electrolyzer Design 2
Electrolyzer Design 3
Electrolyzer Design 3 (cont)
Future Plans
• Use the system to test Fuel Cell designs• Determine what makes different
designs superior to others• Use data to create a functional cell
Works Cited• Nice, Karim, and Jonathan Strickland. “How Fuel Cells Work.” HowStuffWorks. How Stuff
Works Inc, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2009. <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/ fuel-efficiency/ alternative-fuels/ fuel-cell.htm>.
• University of Massachusetts Amherst. “Individual Fuel Cell" Illustration. Fueling the Future: Center for Chemical Innovation. 2009
<http://www.chem.umass.edu/masscrest/fuelingthefuture/images/fuelcell.jpg>.• Microsec R&D Inc. “1000W Stack" Illustration. Microsec R&D Inc. Electronic Product
Design. 2009 <http://www.microsec.net/1000w.jpg>.