It is being claimed by the Chinese engineers that a new class of low-cost fuel cells can be achieved, if the precious metal platinum is stopped being used in the cells.

A team led by Lin Zhuang at Wuhan University in Hubei province, China has been successful in developing a new membrane which is not acidic, thus makes it possible to use a much cheaper, nickel catalyst.

The new polymer by the team proves easy to make into fuel-cell membranes. Furthermore, it can also be mixed with the catalyst itself that increases the contact between the two components and enhances efficiency.

According to Zuang, "A working prototype of the new low-cost fuel cell shows a decent performance of 50 milliwatts per square centimeter at 60 °C. The power output is still lower than that of fuel cells using platinum, but such a comparison may not be appropriate because platinum fuel cells have been studied and optimized for decades."

"The new membrane is an interesting idea. However, it may be hard to say if it would be free from carbonate clogging. It may be less of a problem with an alkaline membrane, but it remains to be seen," expressed Allen Bard, a fuel-cell researcher at the University of Texas in Austin.