© Supplied by Daimler Trucks The life expectancy of a fuel cell catalyst depends on various factors, but generally, automotive fuel cells are designed to last around 5,000 hours, equivalent to about 150,000 miles.
Stationary fuel cell applications, on the other hand, aim for at least 40,000 hours of reliable operation.
However, in what is billed as a major breakthrough, a team of researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has developed a new catalyst capable of pushing projected fuel cell catalyst lifespans to 200,000 hours.
They claim this is a “significant step” toward the widespread adoption of fuel cell-based drive systems in heavy-duty vehicles, such as long-haul tractor-trailers (articulated lorries).
Already, the UCLA team are saying their breakthrough could dramatically extend the lifespan of fuel cell systems, enhance their viability and help bring sustainable, long-haul trucking closer to reality.
Whilst their reference point is the US road freight industry, Europe, with its vast and intensive trunking network, is potentially a huge market for big, long-haul, enhanced performance fuel cell Euro-trucks, plus city and long-distance fuel-cell buses.
Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies were identified as one of the new generation low-carbon energy technologies needed to achieve a 60-80% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 in the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan presented along with the Energy Policy Package as far back as January 2008.
In fact, the European Commission has supported the development of hydrogen and fuel cells since the early 1990s.
Research has mainly been directed at improving performance and durability and reducing costs.
This is hugely important and on point given the widespread reliability and fuel supply issues now troubling bus fleets across the EU and in post-Brexit Britain.
The hydrogen bus fleet of early adopter Aberdeen City has been off the road for nearly a year, starved of adequate fuel supplies.
The city is also experimenting with a hydrogen fuel cell waste truck.
For trucks and heavy-duty vehicles like buses that must travel long distances or are used intensively in the urban environment without frequent, time-consuming charging stops, batteries often fall short.
Hydrogen fuel cells can be refuelled as quickly as conventional ICE-engine vehicles and have for some time been claimed to offer a cleaner, more efficient alternative.
A further alternative is under development, namely H2 ICE, which burns hydrogen directly, much like a conventional diesel or petrol vehicle.
© Supplied by Aberdeenshire CounciBut factors like high costs, limited refuelling infrastructure, and lower energy efficiency compared to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have slowed down the widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel cells as a prime mover.
The current UK and developing cross-EU fuel cell bus crisis does not help.
In January, the trade publication Sustainable Bus stated: “Despite promising potential, the current state of hydrogen technology in the bus market remains marginal, with just 378 units registered all around Europe in 2024.
“Although growing +82% on 2023, hydrogen buses cover just 4.6% of the zero emission bus market, with BEV buses covering the remaining 95%.”
Notwithstanding, on March 6 last year, the Joint Research Centre: EU Science Hub said that hydrogen-powered mobility in Europe was showing “operational benefits and technological readiness”.
“A review of hydrogen transportation projects carried out over the last two decades confirms its value for EU’s transport system decarbonisation and provides recommendations to overcome challenges,” the centre said in the March report.
To its credit, the UK does have its Zero Emission HGV Infrastructure Demonstrator Programme (ZEHID), which is funded by the Department for Transport and Innovate UK, to support the trial of zero-emission big trucks (aka HGVs) in the UK.
This £200 million programme aims to deploy around 350 zero-emission HGVs and support over 70 public and depot-based infrastructure installations by 2030.
Back to the UCLA work.
While platinum-alloy catalysts have historically delivered superior chemical reactions, the alloying elements leach out over time, diminishing catalytic performance.
The degradation is further accelerated by the demanding voltage cycles required to power heavy-duty vehicles.
To address this challenge, the team has engineered what is claimed to be a “durable catalyst architecture with a novel design that shields platinum from the degradation typically observed in alloy systems”.
For trucks and heavy-duty vehicles that must travel long distances without frequent, time-consuming charging stops, batteries often fall short.
Hydrogen fuel cells – which can be refuelled as quickly as traditional ICE-engine vehicles – are said to offer a cleaner, more efficient alternative.
But factors like high costs, limited refuelling infrastructure, and lower energy efficiency compared to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have slowed down their widespread adoption.
© Supplied by ASCOLed by Yu Huang, a professor of materials science and engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, the research team says it’s new catalyst design capable of pushing the lifespan of fuel cell catalysts to 200,000 hours is nearly seven times the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) target for 2050 and a long way beyond current 2030 targets set by the EU.
Published in Nature Nanotechnology, the research is said to mark a significant step toward the widespread adoption of fuel cell technology in heavy-duty vehicles, such as long-haul tractor trailers.
Although medium- and heavy-duty trucks make up only about 5% of vehicles on the road in the US, they are responsible for nearly a quarter of greenhouse gas road vehicle emissions, according to federal estimates.
The EU, some time ago, implemented CO2 emission standards for light and medium trucks to reduce their environmental impact.
These standards, which are part of the broader EU Green Deal, aim to achieve zero-emission goals for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (including vans) by 2035.
Intermediate targets for 2030 include a 55% reduction for cars and a 50% reduction for vans.
The UK has set targets to phase out new, non-zero-emission light and medium trucks by 2035.
This includes phasing out all new HGVs weighing 26 tonnes and under by 2035. The UK aims to have all new heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) be zero-emission by 2040.
Assuming the UCLA polymer design stands up to scrutiny and achieves the 200,000 hours claim, then it could make “heavy-duty applications an ideal entry point for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell technology”.
Because fuel cells are significantly lighter than batteries, they require less energy to move the vehicles.
UCLA says: “With a projected power output of 1.08 watts per square cm, fuel cells featuring the new catalyst can deliver the same performance as conventional batteries that weigh up to eight times more.
This difference is especially relevant for heavy-duty vehicles, which not only carry big cargoes but also tend to be much heavier than standard vehicles.
“In addition, building a (US) national hydrogen-refuelling infrastructure would likely require less investment than establishing an electric vehicle-charging network across the country.”
That said, the opposite would seem to apply in the UK and the wider EU.
Here, hydrogen refuelling stations are significantly more costly to build and operate than EV charging stations.
Additionally, the EU has a more established and intensive electrical grid, making EV charging more feasible and cost-effective.
Fuel cells work by converting the chemical energy stored in hydrogen into electricity, emitting only water vapour as a byproduct.
This has made them a promising solution for cleaner transportation.
© Supplied by UCLAHowever, the so far slow chemical reaction for the energy conversion has been a challenge, requiring a catalyst to achieve practical speeds.
While platinum-alloy catalysts have historically delivered superior chemical reaction, the alloying elements leach out over time, diminishing catalytic performance.
The degradation is further accelerated by the demanding voltage cycles required to power heavy-duty vehicles.
To address this challenge, the UCLA team has engineered a durable catalyst architecture with a novel design that shields platinum from the degradation typically observed in alloy systems.
The researchers began by embedding ultrafine platinum nanoparticles within protective graphene pockets.
Composed of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice, graphene is the thinnest known material.
Despite its atomic thinness, it is incredibly strong, lightweight and highly conductive.
These graphene-encased nanoparticles were then nested inside the porous structure of Ketjenblack, a powdery carbon material.
This “particles-within-particles” design provides long-term stability while preserving the high catalytic activity essential for efficient fuel cell performance.
“Heavy-duty fuel cell systems must withstand harsh operating conditions over long periods, making durability a key challenge,” says Professor Huang, who holds the Traugott and Dorothea Frederking Endowed Chair at UCLA Samueli.
“Our pure platinum catalyst, enhanced with a graphene-based protection strategy, overcomes the shortcomings of conventional platinum alloys by preventing the leaching of alloying elements.
“This innovation ensures that the catalyst remains active and robust, even under the demanding conditions typical of long-haul applications.”
The UCLA team has reported that the new catalyst exhibited a power loss of less than 1.1% after an accelerated stress test involving 90,000 square-wave voltage cycles designed to simulate years of real-world driving, where even a 10% loss is typically considered excellent.
These superior results project fuel cell lifetimes exceeding 200,000 hours, far surpassing the US DOE’s target of 30,000 hours for heavy-duty proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems.
By successfully addressing the dual challenges of catalytic activity and durability, UCLA’s ground-breaking catalyst design holds great promise for large-scale investment in hydrogen fuel cell-powered heavy goods vehicles, at least in the US, though the EU will be closely watching progress from its side of the pond.
The team’s findings built on its earlier success in developing a fuel cell catalyst for light-duty vehicles that demonstrated a lifespan of 15,000 hours – nearly doubling the DOE’s target of 8,000 hours.
UCLA’s Technology Development Group has filed a patent on the technology, a clear signal to the marketplace that major trials leading to commercialisation may be able to begin, despite the Trump administration’s hostility to low-carbon energy, though the President has so far been less vocal about hydrogen tech than other sustainables.
