UW Research Fuel Cell Applications A Scooter? Are your Serious? What do Times Square, Anchorage Alaska, all space missions since Apollo, and public buses in Vancouver BC all have in common? Durst Building at 4 Times Square. Two of International Fuel Cell’s (PC25) Power Plants are installed on the 4th Floor. © 2000 Andrew Gordon. Courtesy International Fuel Cells Installation of Five PC25 Fuel Cell Power Plants at Regional USPS Mail Sorting Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Courtesy of International Fuel Cells Fuel cell powered bus that runs in everyday operation in Vancouver BC. Courtesy of Ballard Power Concept Vehicle, the Jeep Commander, is a fuel cell powered SUV. Courtesy of Ballard Power The neCar4 is a Daimler- Crysler vehicle that has been road tested in Europe. It runs on a Ballard fuel cell Courtesy of Ballard Power All of the US space missions beginning with the Apollo missions have used fuel cells as the main electrical power. Courtesy of International Fuel Cells On board the space shuttle Discovery, the astronauts use the water produced by the fuel cell as drinking water. Currently the project has one working single cell that is used for membrane testing. This single cell has achieved a maximum performance of 0.25 Amps/cm 2 which is 1/4 of the known industry standard. Also, several unsuccessful stack designs have been tried in the past 3 years. With any luck this year will be another breakthrough! Started in 1996 as part of the National Science Foundation’s ECSEL Grant Program the Undergraduate Fuel Cell Research Project is one of the only projects of it’s kind. It is unique not only by the cutting edge technology that it addresses but also by the composition and operation. The project is completely student run and operated. The students design, draft, manufacture and test all of the components of a real working fuel cell. The fact that this technology is not available nor even proven to be reliable makes the challenge very difficult. In essence the students must design with an uncertain result. Consider the ramifications if a student set out to build a bridge but couldn’t figure out how to get one to work. Interdisciplinary groups (Chemical Engineers, Mechanical Engineers and others) work together much the same as in the industry. Sparks fly as young engineers strive to understand each other’s point of view. However as an old proverb says, ‘iron sharpens iron.’ This type of interaction is what undergraduate projects are all about Flow Field Plate Design 3-D CAD Drawing of FFP Picture of Manufactured FFP Very Serious. This quarter one group focuses on a fuel powered scooter. That group will design an entire scooter system. Their focus will be towards making the scooter safe and powerful. Current performance levels achieved from the single cell provide the fuel cell data. From there the engineers make the necessary fuel capacity, storage, motor, and weight decisions for the scooter design. This type of design requires the use of all previous classwork as well as creativity. Stay tuned for the results!