Nickel to Replace Platinum as Hydrogen Catalyst

In a finding that could mean the age of electrical vehicles is almost upon us, scientists at the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, near Paris, France, managed to replace the expensive chemical element platinum as the main catalyst used in hydrogen production. This means that, as soon as the method is adopted worldwide, the prices of hydrogen fuel cells will decrease considerably, making it possible to seriously consider a switch from fossil fuels to alternative power for the world's cars.

The team managed to obtain the same level of chemical reactivity that platinum provided using nothing but nickel, an element that is literally a thousand times cheaper than its predecessor. The French research group was led by experts Vincent Artero, Alan Le Goff and Serge Palacin, Technology Review informs. The basis of their innovation was a nickel-based compound that had been previously bound to a small disk of carbon nanotubes. “The problem with platinum is that it's a very expensive metal and there is not enough of it on Earth to sustain a worldwide hydrogen economy,” Artero reveals.

According to the expert, the electrodes made of the new material will be approximately 20 percent cheaper than those currently available. He adds that the platinum component of existing fuel cells makes for about 33 percent of the total cost associated with these devices. Therefore, replacing platinum could have a significant impact on the overall price, and on the time it takes for people and car manufacturers to accept the new technology, respectively. The new method, the team adds, is based on an enzyme (hydrogenase), which is regularly used by anaerobic bacteria and algae to metabolize hydrogen.

“They use exactly the same process as fuel cells to stay alive,” Artero says. Over the past few years, a large number of research groups around the world have used their expertise in molecular chemistry to clear the mystery of how these organisms manage to break up the element. Now that this is known, there is no need to keep platinum in the loop. Granted, the catalyst is extremely efficient at what it does – splitting water into its basic components – but it simply cannot be used at the large scale.