Flexible Fuel Cells

For a number of reasons, the hydrogen economy — proposed as a replacement for our carbon-based economy — has been frustratingly slow to materialize. For one thing, the infrastructure needed to deliver hydrogen around the country simply doesn't exist.

Yannick Kimmel (ChE '09) and Michael Bruce (ChE '08) are working with Assistant Chemical Engineering Professor Steven McIntosh to perfect the solid oxide fuel cell — a cell with the advantage of being able to use any commonly available combustible fuel, including gasoline, diesel and biofuels.

Kimmel and Bruce are concentrating on optimizing the fuel cell's anode, where electrons are generated, for use with methane. They are adjusting the amount of catalyst in the anode to provide the best reaction and loading it with the right amount of copper to provide the best conductivity.

Finding a place in McIntosh's lab was straightforward for both students. Kimmel saw a notice that McIntosh placed in a publication produced by the U.Va. student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He contacted McIntosh and soon found himself with a summer job. Bruce took another approach. He interviewed a number of professors before meeting with McIntosh.

Working in a lab has been something of a revelation for them. “It takes persistence and determination to make a contribution,” says Bruce. “You need to stay focused and pay close attention to the details to get the best data possible.”