Just Add Water…

A novel aluminum alloy could provide a portable source of hydrogen fuel, reviving interest in fuel cells as an alternative to batteries and liquid fuels. All you have to do is add water.

The discovery was somewhat accidental as a team of researchers was testing a high-strength aluminum alloy by pouring water on it. Normally aluminum will quickly form an oxidized barrier that stops any reaction; however, in this case, it started to bubble and give off hydrogen. What’s more – it kept on reacting.

Previous attempts to harvest hydrogen from aluminum and water required high temperatures and/or the use of catalysts. The reactions were also slow and inefficient, taking hours to achieve 50 percent efficiency. The new alloy produced an order of magnitude with more energy than an equivalent weight of lithium batteries in less than three minutes.

While hydrogen has long been known as the cleanest fuel around, it has never reached its full potential because of the challenges associated with storage and distribution, which requires high pressures and low temperatures. However, aluminum and water are compact, stable and easy to transport. And unlike batteries, they can be ready for use indefinitely.