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This content introduces how the Asahi Glass products are working close to you. You will be amazed to learn that many things around you have been created by Asahi Glass.
- TFT LCD Glass
- Fluon® ETFE FILM
- MEAs for Fuel Cells
MEAs, the core of fuel cells that curb global warming
Global warming is now one of the most serious problems facing the world. It has been reported that the prime cause is carbon dioxide emitted from automobiles and factories. Studies say that, if global warming keeps progressing, we will experience more and more abnormal weather and Arctic and Antarctic ice will melt, which will adversely affect the ecosystem for many creatures and some countries may sink under the sea level. In order to curb global warming that might lead to the destruction of human race if no measures are taken, advanced countries including Japan have been working for the development of clean energy that generates power without emitting carbon dioxide. The fuel cell is a clean energy source that is attracting attention. You may have seen or heard the words "fuel cells", on TV or in newspapers. Asahi Glass is working to develop the central part of fuel cells.
MMEAs (Membrane Electrode Assembly)
Why is the fuel cell clean?
The fuel cell, a typical source of clean energy, emits only water during its operation, unlike the gasoline engine that emits carbon dioxide. The theory of its operation is really simple. Try to remember the experiment of water electrolysis you did at school. By applying voltage between two copper plates (electrodes) dipped into an electrolyte solution such as brine, oxygen bubbles are generated on one of the electrodes and hydrogen bubbles are generated on the other electrode. The fuel cell uses this reaction just in reverse. Namely, when oxygen and hydrogen are fed to the electrodes, electric energy and water are obtained. The high energy conversion efficiency is one of the advantages the fuel cell has. While the gasoline engine can convert only 40% of energy at most, studies say that the fuel cell can theoretically convert more than 80% of the energy that hydrogen has into electric energy.
Fuel cells by Asahi Glass, closer than any other product to practical use
To develop fuel cells that are efficient and clean, we are taking advantage of our fluorine chemical technology that we cultivated. The performance of a fuel cell depends on the properties of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) that converts the chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen into electric energy. The better properties an MEA has, the higher performance a fuel cell gives. The MEA we have newly developed is the first fluorinated-polymer based MEA that has successfully provided a continuous operation time of more than 4,000 hours. It has reputation for being the closest MEA ever to practical use for fuel cells. While conventional MEAs have the disadvantage that they operate only under low temperature and high humidity conditions, our new MEA can continuously operate even under high temperature and low humidity conditions. This performance can be prized as the cutting-edge of MEAs in the world.
Fuel cells in daily life, not later than 2010
In the future, fuel cells will widely used in various areas including automobiles, electrical machinery, and gas industries. It is expected that the market for fuel cells will grow to a size of more than five hundred billion yen by 2010, according to the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun Newspaper on November 2, 2004. We are working for the development of MEAs with higher durability and electric power to meet the demand for practical use. At the same time, we are also making efforts to establish manufacturing technologies that will reduce the cost of further expansion. As a world leader in creating clean energy sources, we are now aiming to put fuel cells to practical use as early as possible.
This content introduces how the Asahi Glass products are working close to you. You will be amazed to learn that many things around you have been created by Asahi Glass.
- TFT LCD Glass
- Fluon® ETFE FILM
- MEAs for Fuel Cells
