US SiGNa Chemical Company announced its latest water hydrogen production process this week. The company said that the hydrogen produced by the new process can be used for hydrogen fuel cells used in portable devices such as notebook computers and mobile phones.
SiGNa scientists stored sodium silicide in a disposable metal can and added water to the metal can to create hydrogen. The sodium silicide is formed by the combination of silicon powder and metallic sodium.
Different from other methods of water-hydrogen production, the reaction is easy to control. In practical applications, this will enable the fuel cell to have quick start-stop capability. This is a problem that many fuel cells now face because once they use 30%-40. % of fuel, ordinary fuel cells will continue to generate electricity and can not stop.
Sodium silicate, a by-product of the hydrogen production reaction, is also an environmentally friendly product. Toothpaste contains sodium silicate. Sodium silicate can be directly recovered as municipal waste, and can also be recycled for cement manufacturing and other industries. Michael Levine, president and CEO of SiGNa, said that the new process will make hydrogen fuel cells 10 times cheaper than alkaline batteries and 6 times cheaper than lithium batteries.
The target market for sodium silicide fuel cells includes consumer electronics such as mobile phones and notebook computers, and electric bicycles. At present, lithium battery electric bicycles can only continue to drive 36 kilometers, while the new hydrogen production process-driven fuel cell electric bicycles can travel at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour and 160 kilometers.
Due to the overheating and explosion of lithium batteries and the need to recycle toxic substances, some notebook manufacturers are trying to use fuel cells in their notebooks. The first fuel cell notebooks are expected to be available this year.
Michael Levinefeld said that the main problem now is that large-scale production is needed to reduce the cost of the hydrogen production process.