ENERGY SPECIAL.. Fuel cells for the developing world

 Fuel cells for the developing world 

A start-up has created a fuel cell that can be powered by fire meant for cooking. Once charged the device can be used to charge a cellphone or be used as a light source

    In some parts of the developing world including India, people live in homes without electricity or toilets or running water but yet they own cellphones. To charge those phones, they may have to walk for miles to reach a town charging station – and possibly even have to leave their phones overnight. Now a startup company spun off technology developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has created a simple, inexpensive way to provide electricity to the 2.5 billion people in the world who don’t get it reliably.
    Point Source Power’s innovative device is based on a solid oxide fuel cell that is powered by burning charcoal, wood or other types of biomass – even cow dung – the types of fuel that many in use for cooking.
    The fuel cell sits in the fire and is attached to circuitry in a handle that is charged as the fuel cell heats up to temperatures of 700 to 800 degrees Celsius. The handle, which contains an LED bulb,canthenbedetachedandusedfor lighting or to charge a phone.
    “In the developing world, 2.5 billion people cook with solid fuels every day. We decided to piggyback on that ritual,” said Craig Jacobson, CEO and co-founder of Point Source Power. “Our fuel cell is made from low-cost materials and is very tolerant of contaminants, things like sulfur and carbon, which would kill most other fuel cells.”
    Jacobson co-invented the fuel cell in his 13 years as a materials scientist at Berkeley Lab. Working with Steve Visco and Lutgard DeJonghe, both still affiliated with the Lab, their breakthrough was in finding a way to replace most of the ceramics in the fuel cell with stainless steel, a far cheaper and more durable material.
    “Ceramics are typically brittle and relatively expensive to process and assemble into systems,” Jacobson said. “We got rid of 90 per cent of the ceramics, keeping only a very thin functional layer, about half the thickness of human hair, to serve as the electrolyte.”
    Asaresult,PointSourcePower’sfuel cell is rugged, being able to withstand welding and thermal shock.
    That makes it cheaper to manufacture.Itcanalsostartandstopinamatter of seconds.
    “Fuel cells have been around for over 50 years – they work great. There are only three problems with fuel cells: cost, cost and cost,” Jacobson said. “Our philosophy is, let’s get rid of those costs and make a fuel cell that can run on anything that burns.”
    The device called VOTO, also provides longer and better quality light than the kerosene lamps.
    Moreover it doesn’t emit the unhealthy pollutants and greenhouse gases that kerosene does.
    The company will commercially release the VOTO in Kenya this year. Jacobson has been to Kenya a number of times to conduct field trials and obtain input from both users and distributors.
    “There’s a lot of enthusiasm,” he said. “They’re fascinated by it. It’s like magic – you put a box in a fire and you get electricity out. People get it and enjoy doing it.”
    The handle will retail for about $17 and the fuel cell for about $7. Like all fuel cells, the main limitation is its lifetime – it will last only three to four monthswithregularuse.Butgiventhat families spend $8 to $12 a month on kerosene, “within less than two months they’ll get their money back and also get more convenience and save time,” Jacobson said.
    “There’s a lot of waste biomass in the world,” he said. “If you can convert that to electricity it’s a good thing.” MM130501