Tinius Olsen Helps Drive Automotive Sustainability Through Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology

Let’s consider the pros and cons between battery and fuel cell powered vehicles. Both are extremely environmentally friendly, cheaper to run than the fossil fuel variety, require less maintenance and some of them are extremely quick.

On the downside there’s limited battery range, battery lifespan issues and cost, long charging times and environmental impact implications based on non-sustainable electricity generation for both charging and battery production.

‘Fuel cells themselves work like batteries, but they do not run down or need recharging and they produce electricity as long as hydrogen is supplied. They consist of two electrodes—a negative anode and a positive cathode sandwiched around an electrolyte,” says Oliver Jackson, Principal Research Engineer at Intelligent Energy.
“Hydrogen is fed to the anode and ambient air is fed to the cathode, where a catalyst at the anode separates hydrogen molecules into protons and electrons, which take different paths to the cathode. The electrons go through an external circuit, creating a flow of electricity, whereas the protons migrate through the electrolyte to the cathode. A catalyst at the cathode combines the protons with oxygen and the electrons to produce water vapour and heat.”
“The technology can be applied across a broad range of uses too, thus putting materials testing at the forefront of R&D. Tinius Olsen equipment tests materials for mechanical properties such as tensile, compressive and bending strength, which is obviously vital.”
“For all these properties, we need to apply a range of forces to see how they will respond to changes in pressure.”

“There are also things like gaskets and seals, as well as supporting other departments across the business such as the mechanical design team.

“The Tinius Olsen equipment and support we receive is fundamental to what we do, so you could say they’re very much on the front line of these developments, generating confidence in materials used and the finished product.”