FuelCellsWorks

Ahi Fambeni will be on display at COP17.(SABC)

Fuel cell technologies are now being introduced into the country’s energy mix in time for the UN COP17 conference scheduled to take place in Durban later this month.  A new bike named “Ahi fambeni” – Xitsonga for “let’s go” in English is powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

Ahi Fambeni is made from light and strong advanced materials, and it was built by students from the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria.

The bike is an environmentally friendly vehicle because during riding it doesn’t emit any pollution

Department of Science & Technology’s Dr. Val Munsami say: “If you look at the fuel cell itself in order to conduct electricity you need a catalyst and the catalyst is made out of platinum to generate electricity.

Platinum is a key component of the hydrogen fuel cell. We are looking at capturing at least twenty per cent of the world market in terms of using platinum as a catalyst.”

Hydrogen South Africa Systems` Piotr Bujlo adds: “The bike is an environmentally friendly vehicle because during riding it doesn’t emit any pollution. The only emissions of the fuel cells are heat and water, so we can use this tricycle in areas where environmentally tricycles are needed.”

Before it goes into full production the technology will be used to power forklifts and baggage carriers. Ahi Fambeni will be on display at COP17.

UD snags renowned fuel-cell researcher

Officials hope professor boosts school — and state’s economy

By JONATHAN STARKEY
The News Journal

The University of Delaware has landed a potential star professor — one who burnishes the college’s engineering offerings and could help build the state’s economy.

Yushan Yan, a renowned fuel-cell researcher, is a new engineering professor at the school, arriving this summer with an entourage of nine early-career scientists and seven doctoral candidates.

At a cost of $1.9 million, the Delaware Technology Park has built the crew 6,500 square feet of laboratory and office space in Newark, where it will work alongside small startups and established businesses.

University and state officials hope Yan’s labs will be a source of market-ready innovation in coming years.

Yan, who has already licensed technology to a pair of commercial startups, hopes to market technology that could efficiently convert hydrogen from the sun’s rays into power for homes and cars. The technology could also lead to efficient batteries to store solar or wind power — and, importantly, new jobs.

“I really want to commercialize technology that can improve society,” Yan says.