2002 Features Archive

Argonne Completes Evaluation of DOE Fuel Cell System

Argonne National Laboratory has finished testing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE's) first gasoline-fueled 50-kW complete fuel cell system, built by UTC Fuel Cells. The unit has its own fuel, air, and water management systems, and all the components needed to recover hydrogen from gasoline, create the necessary chemical reactions, and produce electric power. The tests were conducted at Argonne’s Fuel Cell Test Facility, which was established by DOE to provide a source of independent, standardized testing for all types of fuel cell systems as DOE and fuel cell developers move forward with fuel cell research. (More...)

FLC Award for Fuel Cell Technology

An Argonne research team has been awarded a Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer for their work on an autothermal fuel reforming catalyst for fuel cells. Award recipients are Shabbir Ahmed, Mike Krumpelt, Romesh Kumar, John David Carter, John Kopasz, and Joong-Myeon Bae. The autothermal reforming catalyst is the key component of a fuel processor (or reformer) that can efficiently convert methanol, ethanol, natural gas, gasoline, and diesel into hydrogen that can be fed to a fuel cell to produce electricity. The fuel processor produces high-quality hydrogen fuel within two minutes of startup and at temperatures that are several hundreds of degrees centigrade below those required for reformers based on a noncatalytic reaction. This fuel flexibility, shorter startup time, and lower operating temperatures will help make fuel-cell-powered automobiles practical. (More...)

Argonne Team Receives DOE Award for Groundbreaking Diesel Fuel Spray Research

A team of Argonne scientists (Jin Wang, Steve Ciatti, Chris Powell, and Yong Yue) recently won the 2002 National Laboratory Combustion and Emissions Control R&D Award for groundbreaking work in diesel fuel sprays. For the first time ever, the team used x-rays to penetrate through gasoline and diesel sprays and made detailed measurements of fuel injection systems for diesel engines. This technology uncovered a previously unknown shockwave in diesel sprays, which may eventually help manufacturers improve the combustion process and thus build cleaner, more efficient injection systems. (More...)

Argonne Opens New Facility for Advanced Vehicle Testing

North America's only independent testing facility for engines, fuel cells, electric drives and energy storage is open for business at Argonne National Laboratory. (More...)

November 2009