Japanese car maker Daihatsu is to explore the use of hydrazine fuel for fuel cell cars, as an alternative to conventional compressed hydrogen.
The small firm, part owned by Toyota and now absent from the UK, recently revealed a new hydrazine-driven concept car called FC ShoCase, capable of achieving an energy output density of 0.50 W/cm2 using hydrazine hydrate.
Hydrazine (N2H4) is toxic in its pure form but by mixing it into as a solution, hydrazine hydrate- a liquid fuel- it is far less volatile than compressed gas and much easier to transport and store.
What makes it even more appealing, is that unlike hydrogen, hydrazine works best in alkaline electrolyte solutions. This means that expensive acid-resistant metal catalysts used in conventional fuel cells, such as platinum, are not required. That means lower cost and more readily available catalysts can be used instead, reducing the cost of the whole system. Daihatsu has already successfully used both cobalt and nickel as catalysts. A lack of acid-resistant catalysts also make it easier to dispose and recycle fuel cells too.
Approximately 260,000 tons of hydrazine is produced annually for use in a number of industrial and process applications including in the steam cycles of conventional
A high energy fuel, approximately 260,000 tonnes of hydrazine is already being produced each year, according to Fuel Cell Today.
It is not yet known if Daihatsu will bring a hydrazine-driven car to production.
