Complementing Solar and Wind Energy with Fuel CellsJack BrouwerUC Irvine and National Fuel Cell Research Center

Published: Aug. 26, 2019, 9:17 a.m.

Jack Brouwer is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UC Irvine, as well as the head of the National Fuel Cell Research Center. He joins the podcast to discuss the potential of fuel cell technology as a complement to wind and solar energy, which could pave the way for the development and implementation of 100 percent renewable energy. \u201cWhat we\u2019d like to see is renewable gasses that include biogasses but also renewable hydrogen, and this would become the ubiquitous fuel that\u2019s moved around in society, and then you would use a whole bunch of wind, a whole bunch of solar, and complement it with something you can turn on and off, and turn up and down, which is the fuel cell,\u201d explains Brouwer.\xa0


He discusses the biggest hurdles in the way of fuel cell technology, how to jump these hurdles, how to understand and compare different forms of energy, how fuel cells operate and are affected by temperature versus the concentration of fuel and oxygen, and much more.


Press play to hear the full conversation, and check out www.nfcrc.uci.edu to learn more.\xa0


To contact Brouwer directly, don\u2019t hesitate to email him at jb@nfcrc.uci.edu.