Reducing the cost and prolonging the durability of hydrogen fuel cell systems by in-situ hydrogen purification and technology hybridization (HyFCap)

Prof Xiao Guo

The aim of this project is to develop a low-cost and durable power system by integrating hydrogen fuel cells and supercapacitors with in-situ gas purification. To this end,

1. High surface area porous graphenes/MOFs/carbons based sorbents/membranes have been developed and assessed the H₂/CO₂/CH₄ selectivity by means of single component absorption tests at room temperature.
2. The pore structure of MOFs and its derived carbons have been optimised. The absorptive uptake tests show giant enhancement in the binding of highly polarizable molecules such as CO₂ over H₂.
3. A purification system that consists of both high resolution mass spectroscopy as well as high sensitivity gas chromatography has been designed for membrane based H₂ purification tests.
4. An early hypothetical propulsion system has been constructed.
5. Three iterations of bus road data have been collected and verified.

Clean transport is essential to reduce both CO₂ and pollutant emissions in an increasingly populated urban environment. The proposed development can quicken the steps of de-carbonisation and de-pollution of the urban environment.