Bimetallic catalyst for the Hydrogen gas production, and Fuel Cell operation

E. N. SCHULZ; A. RUDERMAN; G. SOLDANO; S. G. GARCÍA; E. SANTOS

Dublin

Congreso; European Science Open Forum 2012 – Marie Curie Actions Satellite Event; 2012

Hydrogen is considered as one of the most feasible energy carriers of the future. Fuel cells, which can use Hydrogen as fuel, are expected to replace internal combustion engines in the following decades, as the oil reserves decrease, and global warming increases. But Hydrogen production at the scale needed by our modern society is a process that takes a lot of time to be carried out. Catalysts are substances that can speed up chemical reaction rates in order to achieve the production in a faster time than the one it would take to nature alone. They are also vital for the efficient operation of Fuel Cells. Hydrogen production can be carried out in several ways, such as the Steam Reforming, which uses Methane as the main reactant, or by electrochemical means. This last process doesn’t rely on fossil fuels and is considered cleaner, since it only involves water as its main reactant.