Hydrogen-related technologies represent a new vector for the energy transition, whether in the field of hydrogen-based power generation or in the field of mobility. HEF offers surface engineering solutions related to hydrogen production, transportation, and storage.
Specifically in the field of mobility, hydrogen can be used both as a carbon-free fuel and for generating electricity to power electric motors.
When hydrogen is used to generate electricity, an important system is the hydrogen fuel cell, whose principle is the reverse of water electrolysis. In the hydrogen fuel cell, under controlled conditions, the reaction of gaseous hydrogen contained in a reservoir with oxygen from the air is promoted to form water molecules in the form of vapor and electrical energy, which can be stored in batteries to be used, for example, in powering electric motors. This is the idea behind hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
One of the advantages of hydrogen-powered vehicles over purely electric vehicles is that, in the former case, it is practically not necessary to wait several hours for the batteries to charge, which also leads to the possibility of using smaller batteries.
The technologies available at HEF allow for significant improvements and cost reductions in the manufacturing of bipolar hydrogen fuel cell plates, as well as electrolyzers. These improvements result from the use of technologies capable of modifying surface roughness on a nanometric scale (via femtosecond laser) and the use of coating technologies, which allow for the reduction of the use of precious metals in some components and, in others, the complete replacement of these materials with carbon-based layers.
