How hydrogen could change our everyday lives and what gas diffusion layers have to do with it: Five questions for an FPM materials specialist.
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Dr. Volker Banhardt
Sales Manager Fuel Cell Products at Freudenberg Performance Materials
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| If hydrogen were to establish itself as a regenerative energy source in the long term, what would change? | Then society would become less dependent on the fossil fuels coal and oil. Hydrogen can be used in many ways as an energy converter with the help of fuel cells. In Japan, more than 200,000 micro CHP fuel cell heating systems are already delivering electricity and heat to households in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner. There are cars, buses, trucks, trains and forklifts powered by fuel cells. |
| If, as expected by 2050, around 113 million fuel cell cars will be on the road in the US, Europe and Japan, displacing gasoline cars... | Then, according to Shell’s latest hydrogen study, it will save up to 68 million metric tons of gasoline and nearly 200 million tons of transport-related CO2 emissions. |
| If fuel cells are to succeed in becoming mainstream... | Then they need to be accepted by consumers as a new technology. A first important step would be to continue state support to successfully launch fuel cells onto the market. With increasing sales, the price could fall and the technology could become economically competitive. |
| If fuel cells in automobile drives, heaters or emergency generators achieve high performance... | Then the gas diffusion layer (GDL) plays an important role. This is because the gas-permeable layer of carbon fibers and suitable coatings has a significant impact on the performance and service life of the fuel cell. This is the only way the chemical reactions can take place reliably and long-term. |
| If gas diffusion layers are to succeed in improving performance in specialist transport applications... | then they must be very easy to process, distribute oxygen and hydrogen as optimally as possible to the electrodes, and safely dissipate the reaction product water and the electricity and heat generated. They also need to have a high mechanical and cyclic stability for carbon fiber components. These are criteria that Freudenberg Performance Materials’ gas diffusion layers perfectly fulfill. |
* Different studies have presented different results. In terms of the figures used in this interview, we refer to the Shell hydrogen study “Energy of the Future? Sustainable mobility through fuel cells and H2” (2017), conducted by Shell in collaboration with the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.
