Johnson Matthey's dedicated fuel cell business is leading the way in terms of developing solutions to the problems still faced in the evolution of fuel cells.

Widely regarded as the most efficient way to produce electricity from hydrogen, fuel cells offer an alternative source of energy for the future of the planet, because the only by-product of the process is water.

Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells is at the heart of the drive to provide better and more efficient fuel cells, through its specialisation in precious metal catalysts, whereby metals such as platinum are used as catalysts to create the reaction needed in the fuel cell to produce electricity.

Fuel cell vehicles are already being developed, but there remain some difficulties before the cars can be mass marketed, such as how to store enough hydrogen on board to make using the machines viable.

As Green Futures explains, one solution being looked at by technologists at Johnson Matthey – as elsewhere around the world – is producing the hydrogen itself from renewable electricity or other renewable energy sources such as biomatter.

Therefore, technologists are looking to develop a range of applications, including using catalysts to reform hydrogen from carbon-neutral biofuels.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd