Visioning 2026 Blog
Energy -- Fuel Cells and Portable Power Solutions
Fuel Cells and Portable Power Solutions -- Battery Development -- Importance of Cobalt
Watched a very informative video pod cast on the MITWorld web site (1:15 hrs).
A MIT professor makes the argument for increasing resources on battery technology as acost effective alternative (over hydrogen) to carbon based transportation solutions.
Fuel Cells and Portable Power Solutions http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/361/
Donald R. Sadoway, John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry
Department of Materials Science Engineering Mr. Elliott states that more resources should be spent on battery research. He explains why the hydrogen economy will be very difficult to implement unless transportations costs become extremely expensive in order to justify the massive infrastructure investment and that a non-metallic catalyst (not platinum as used today) be found for cost effective hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Mr. Elliott mentions the following problems with the hydrogen fuel cells:
1) non-metallic catalyst must be found. The cost of platinum is already expensive which is being used in fuel cells.
2) cost of producing hydrogen (many solutions still use carbon fuels to produce the hydrogen fuel)
3) storage of hydrogen (on the car or at the station) and implementing crash worthy cars?
4) shipping costs must be overcome (distributions methods)
He proposes that we need to invest in low cost carbon and electrical mechanical transportation solutions.
Europeans have been on the forefront of the diesel electric hybrid vehicles for years.
How could Northeast Nebraska become the leaders in implementing ethanol electrical hybrid vehicles along with diesel hybrid vehicles? How could we be recognized as the prototype hybrid car center of the world? Is it realist to establish a goal that in 10 years we have 50% of passenger vehicles on the road using hybrid technology and 75% in 15 years? According to Mr. Elliott, just about every commuter working in Norfolk could be using a hybrid vehicle without "running out of energy" for the daily commute based on current technology. How could we at a local level provide an incentive for purchasing these type vehicles, e.g., by eliminating the county and city sales taxes (2.5% on $30K vehicle would save the purchaser $750.00)? Right now there is a federal tax credit when purchasing hybrid cars (up to about $3,500) that covers the additional cost of a hybrid over a conventional vehicle. How would we transform the engine mechanics (and electrical motor) courses at NECC to become the center for hybrid car maintenance? Norfolk Iron & Metal use to be the battery recycler in Northeast Nebraska 35 years ago. How could we help with battery recycling in Nebraska?
Battery production currently requires significant amount of cobalt according to Mr. Elliot. I can remember 15 years ago the United States Air Force was very concerned about uninterrupted access to cobalt due to instability in Africa and the former Soviet Union. They had budgeted millions of dollars to stockpile cobalt for manufacture of jet engine parts (turbine fans and compressors).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt
Cobalt is not found as a free metal and is generally found in the form of ores. Cobalt is usually not mined alone, and tends to be produced as a by-product of nickel and copper mining activities. The main ores of cobalt are cobaltite, erythrite, glaucodot, and skutterudite. The world's major producers of cobalt are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China, Zambia, Russia and Australia. It is also found in Finland, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. It is also produced in the town of Cobalt, Ontario as a byproduct of the silver mining.
Does it make sense why one of the other reasons we are in Afghanistan is due to its cobalt reserves?
Mark
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