Cool Fuel Cells

To make this ultra-thin layer, Ignatiev and his colleagues at TcSAM don't simply shave down a chunk of bulk material until it's thin enough. Instead, they grow the electrolyte atom by atom, depositing one layer of atoms at a time in a process called epitaxy. The thin films in TcSAM fuel cells are about 1000 atoms thick.

more A functioning cell in a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) stack.

Squeezing out the same power at half the temperature creates a domino effect of cost savings. For one, cheaper materials can be used to build them, rather than the expensive heat-tolerant ceramics and high-strength steels demanded by 1,000-degree fuel cells. And the automobiles and personal electronics that could use these fuel cells can also forgo exotic materials and elaborate heat-dissipation systems, lowering manufacturing costs. All of this tips the scales of economic feasibility in the right direction.

Support for fuel cells as the successor to the internal combustion engine is widespread. All of the major automobile manufacturers are busily developing fuel-cell vehicles, and President Bush recently proposed spending US$1.2 billion to help bring the technology to market.

Copyright 2002 Casio Inc. This prototype Casio laptop can run for more than 20 hours on one refueling of its fuel cell power supply, shown here removed from the computer.

The portable electronics industry is also exploring miniature fuel cells as a more powerful, longer lasting replacement for batteries. Intel, for example, has funded a start-up company called PolyFuel to develop such a fuel cell for laptops.

Solid-oxide fuel cells are one of six types being developed today. Each depends on a different chemical trick to combine the hydrogen fuel with oxygen to produce power. The automotive industry is looking primarily at proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells to power tomorrow's cars, motorcycles and trucks, but some companies are also considering the advantages of the solid-oxide variety.