The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (Germany) was in charge of creating a new fuel in the form of paste capable of feeding the battery of electric vehicles powered by hydrogen, which has received the name of “Powerpaste”.
One of the attractions that have made IFAM’s invention relevant is that the mixture contains such powerful potential that it could allow a drone to fly for at least a couple of hours, as opposed to the 30 minutes that it could do the traditionally said vehicle.
In addition, Powerpaste represents an extremely economical energy source. An example is the low cost when building the storage structure and means of transport it requires, since the figures do not exceed 1 million dollars compared to hydrogen infrastructures that would be around 2 million.
The base of Powerpaste is composed of solid magnesium hydride, a very positive aspect considering that this element is one of the most abundant in the world.
Magnesium powder combined with hydrogen, ester and a type of metal salt, are part of the formula of a product that, in the middle of its elaboration, must be exposed to temperatures higher than 300 ° C.
Dr Marcus Vogt, who is part of the IFAM research team, described the use of the substance like this:
“POWERPASTE stores hydrogen in a chemical form at room temperature and atmospheric pressure to be then released on demand”
Dr. Marcus Vogt
What can it boost?
From electric motorcycles to drones and scooters, they could be Powerpaste receivers, which could extend their use to cars, although for the latter the charging system could be a bit more complex.
So far, it is envisaged that the replenishment of the mixture is carried out through cartridges, a step that must be preceded by the filling of the water tank.
This is how the Powerpaste is generated
Being in the means of transport, the pasta is dispensed through a plunger. Then, after reacting with the water coming from the vehicle’s tank, hydrogen is produced in the form of gas, which will respond to the requirements of the fuel cell.
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Written by | Osward Rubio
