Vietnam will produce fuel cells

In the near future, Vietnamese people will be able to use batteries for lighting, phones, computers, bicycles . without charging.

This is the battery by Dr. Nguyen Manh Tuan, room for new materials and nanostructures, researched and produced by HCMC Institute of Physics.

80% of domestic materials

Producing fuel cells in the laboratory.Photo: Thai Ngoc.

To be able to master this kind of battery with many advantages, Dr. Tuan started to study fuel cell using methanol alcohol. After two years with many failures, he launched many types of battery structures using methanol fuel. With power conversion efficiency of nearly 50% (with the highest battery is 30 to 40%). Test results showed that only three milliliters of methanol battery could light a 20mW LED bulb for four hours.

'This result is nearly on par with those in developed countries. More specifically, this battery is active in 80 materials to produce. When the battery is depleted, just pour the fuel into the storage chamber and the battery is fully charged again. Depending on the battery power supply for the device that has the structure and corresponding fuel chamber ' , Tuan said.

Do not pollute the environment

According to Dr. Tuan, Vietnam's conditions have not allowed to research and manufacture fuel cells using hydrogen fuel. Because of many difficulties in warranty and storage (hydrogen leaks easily, if there is a spark in the air, it will explode). Therefore, methanol fuel cells are useful and feasible for handheld devices: music players, phones, computers . even for cars. Especially the battery has advantages: low working temperature, safety in storage, transportation, battery life is still high.

Image describes the process of fuel cell operation.Photo: Thai Ngoc.

A key feature of the main fuel cell is the application of nanotechnology and non-hazardous materials. The battery has a lifespan of tens of years, when it is no longer in use, it can be recycled almost completely and the waste after electricity conversion is only water. Therefore, it can be said that this is a clean battery, not causing environmental pollution.

Dr. Nguyen Manh Tuan is completing application research to commercialize this product for mobile phones and laptops. Moving forward, he will study to produce fuel cells for buses and taxis.

Fuel cells today are no longer a new story, electronics firms: NEC, Toshiba, LG, IBM, Motorola . to Pord, General motor . have successfully applied fuel cells to the lines. my product. The life of a fuel cell can be five to ten times that of current batteries.

The advantage of fuel cells does not waste time charging (fuel only), does not pollute the environment. However, these firms have only just performed, but have not really commercialized the product widely. According to many experts, the demand for global fuel cells will reach nearly three billion USD in 2011.

In some developed countries like Canada and the US . people have used hydrogen fuel cells for buses. Scientists say this will be a clean energy source to solve the problem of fuel exhaustion and environmental pollution.