May 17, 2006 - 09:30

fuel for thought

Image Caption: The Hy-Light car, designed by PSI and Michelin, is a tantalising if costly glimpse of future hydrogen powered vehicles (Keystone)

As petrol threatens to run out in the coming decades, the hunt is on to find new energy sources, even in Switzerland.

At the Paul Scherrer Institute not far from Zurich, researchers are testing both promising and lesser-known technology to answer the coming energy crunch.

A small car developed at the institute in Villigen recently made headlines far and wide. Built in collaboration with tyre maker Michelin, it was neither fast nor stylish.

But what it lacked in looks, the Hy-Light prototype made up for it with its innovative engine. Built around hydrogen fuel cell technology, it was a tantalising - if expensive - glimpse of the future.

Fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process produce electricity, which in turn powers the vehicle.

Besides looking for ways of replacing petrol as a power source, the head of fuel cell systems at Paul Scherrer, Felix Büchi, says there

are also environmental reasons for considering this technology.

"In the developed world, 30 per cent of our primary energy use goes to transport,» he told swissinfo.

"Beyond that, carbon dioxide [a greenhouse gas released by combustion engines] levels are increasing and it is also important to contribute to sustainable mobility."

Important relationship

Car manufacturers have been considering fuel cells for some time now. Research in Switzerland, where there are no domestic car builders, is considered important because of the strong relationship Swiss industry has with these manufacturers.

The stakes are so high that no one will in fact show you the latest designs. Büchi is only prepared to go through the basics with an old model, similar to what can easily be found on the internet.

The basic chemistry is very simple.

The real challenge is developing the parts that make up the cell itself.

Büchi sees fuel cell technology becoming a real alternative to the combustion engine soon, although he doesn't expect cars powered by this technology to become widespread before 2015.

"Cost is the biggest hurdle," he said. "Fuel cell engines cost 20 times more than combustion engines for an equivalent power output."

According to Büchi, the cost of some components would drop with mass production, but for others, more development is needed to meet cost targets.

Harnessing the sun

Solar power might provide another solution to the feared energy crunch, but not in the shape of photovoltaic cells.

Researchers at PSI are attempting to harness the sun's power to produce so-called solar fuels.

One idea is to break down zinc oxide with heat, creating a zinc gas that can be combined later with water to regenerate the oxide and produce hydrogen that can be used to generate electricity.

To do this, explains Lothar Schunk, a PhD student working on the project, there is little point in using oil or electricity to heat the zinc oxide. What the Swiss researchers have in mind is a solar furnace.

The PSI version is a parabolic mirror concentrating sunlight on one point, in this case the reaction chamber loaded with zinc oxide, heating it to over 1,700 degrees Celsius.

"The advantage of doing this is that you can carry out this out kind of reaction somewhere in the desert, and transport the gas to another location to help generate electricity," Schunk told swissinfo.

The desert sounded like a good idea on a damp and grey day in Villigen. Swiss weather is unpredictable at

best.

To overcome this technical hitch though, there's nothing like a giant sunlight or, in this case, a solar simulator. Ten xenon lamps provide all the power needed to replace a weak sun, and more than enough to fry an innocent bystander.

Whether this solar fuel technology will be applicable on an industrial scale remains to be seen. But next time someone talks about harnessing the power of the sun, just remember it could be cheaper than most people expect.

swissinfo, Scott Capper in Villigen