Plastic energy – Making hydrogen easier and safer to use

Cella Energy has developed a proprietary process that combines hydrogen-rich material with a polymer in order to create a solid form of hydrogen that resembles plastic. In its solid state, this material is more stable and therefore is easier to use as a clean power source for a whole range of applications, from UAVs to airplaces to cars. The material was developed during an extensive research programme in Oxford, UK, and the NASA Kennedy Space Centre in the US.

Through our experimentation, we found a way to combine hydrogen-rich materials with a particular polymer that resulted in a plastic-like material you can compress and hold the hydrogen within. When heated to temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius, the material is able kick out hydrogen to be used as fuel. When exposed to air, the technology remains stable and can be tossed around without worry. We essentially created a safe way to store large quantities of hydrogen energy.

We then began looking into marketing the technology, but it became evident that people aren’t sold on the notion of hydrogen or green technology. What people want is a large amount of energy already installed within a device, so we developed power supplies using our hydrogen storage to replace batteries. After a few years of work, we have come up with a gas generator that heats up individual pellets one by one and feeds them into a fuel cell to get electricity. We also have power systems a third of the weight of a lithium ion battery with equal performance standards. Overall, we’ve created a super light- weight, portable power with no emissions.

We’re also working in the automotive sector. We currently have range extenders for electric vehicles. When you run out of fuel, you simply switch it on and the extra range will be produced by a small compact system that powers a fuel cell. A few companies are interested in picking that up at the end of this year and taking it on as a project. We are also currently working with manufacturers to co-develop other products.

Our technology is one third of the weight of a lithium-ion. The standard lithium-ion battery is also very flammable when exposed to air whereas our technology is completely stable. Consider these advantages within a real-world scenario, say, a soldier carrying a lithium-ion battery into battle. If they’re being fired at, and the battery is hit, it will explode. Our technology aims to reduce that safety risk as well as tackle the weight-load soldiers have to carry. Our hydrogen storage is also stable, and does not lose power in storage, eliminating the need for continuous recharging.

The main challenges we’ve had to overcome are financial and commercial. The technology has been proven in the lab and we know people are willing to scale up, but we just need to find the right partners to fund the development of the technology and show that it works well in versatile applications.

In the future, we would like to get the price down to a few dollars per kg at wholesale. At that point the total cost of operating an EV will be roughly the same. We still have a way to go before we can see the technology in wider commercial use, but we hope that it happens within the next few years.​

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Sounds great! I hope Toyota call them up and implement it in Gen2 Mirai to launch in 2020. And we can have 3 seats in the back with ample trunk space.

 

Yes.

By forming the Cella’s material into small (millimetre) sized pellets the material behaves like a fluid. An inexpensive vacuum pump, similar to that used in a vacuum cleaner, can be used to refuel a vehicle within minutes in a way that is entirely familiar to consumers.
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