Computer simulations are helping to improve fuel cell technologies for future transport applications

A University of New Mexico researcher is using computer simulations to improve fuel cell technology that could power vehicles, aircraft, ships and tankers in the future.

Ivana Gonzales, Research Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the US university, said fuel cells offer “several advantages” over combustion engines and batteries.

The scientist has been using computer resources to interpret experimental data and predict the performance of fuel cells composed of different materials, which could be implemented in a wide range of products.

Using the simulator with CARC systems, the scientist has been able to screen the performance of the materials which allows to save time and money by only performing physical experiments on materials that demonstrate viability in a virtual system.

Gonzales said on the advantages of fuel cells, “Fuel cells offer several advantages over combustion engines and even batteries.

“They are environmentally friendly and can be used to power heavy-duty land vehicles, aircrafts, marine vessels like ships and tankers, and as such are expected to help our economy transition to fully renewable energy.

“CARC played a role in almost all of my projects through the use of computational resources, technical support, data storage, or student training.

“As a computational scientist that works with teams in optimising fuel cell devices, free and almost unlimited access to computational resources is of key importance.”