I am trying to build a one passenger fuel cell powered vehicle. There is one problem, i need a power fuel cell, of perhaps 3-5 kW, that will be pretty small, and not so incredebly expensive.
I will need information as to who i can contact to get such items, since it is a school project i am hoping that they will help out with the price and on top since the project will not simply be stored in a closet but can be modified by other students and other schools and colleges will be getting a glimpse of the project, we could come to an agreement.
I am also trying to find a lightweight, efficient and cheap motor, also would be very helpful if its nearby Miami, Florida....
I am also trying to find sponsoring for the project, so if anyone here knows someone or somewhere that would be able to sponsor my project, it would be of great help....
I would also like to find someone that has some knowledge about what i am doing, since i am new at this, and i am only a junior in High School, my knowledge is very limited asot the processes needed to follow or the materials needed to build a car capable of supporting a passenger.
it would also be helpful to hear from what you people think about the project so far, if its do-able and stuff like that.
I was thinking of having an exterior made of styrofoam, with oneor two layers or epoxy resin for strenght
or an exterior made of aluminum
(if you have an suggestions please say something, it would be of great help, it needs to be something that is cheap, but capable of supporting a person and atleast 80 pounds of materials, i.e. motor is about 50-85 pounds alone)
I was thinking of having a controller that will regulate the current that goes into the engine and thus regulating the speed of the vehicle (though i probably need lots of help in this area, since our knowledge of such systems and how they work is again very limited)
I was thinking of having a metal hydride as a storage system, due to its ability of contraining large amounts of hydrogen, and was researching palladium sponge as an alternative, since it is capable of holding 900 grams of hydrogen per gram of palladium (something that i found trully amazing, its an amazing material, but also has a hefty price, of about $100 per gram, but maybe a gram might be enough, since there is a hydrogen fuel cell bike, of 2 Kw, that has a driving range of 100 miles on 5 OZ of hydrogen gas.) There is also nanotube, made of graphite, but it would require high pressure and a high temperature in order to extract the hydrogen. There is also some research that i found dealing with hydrogen and graphite, the way it works is by placing the graphite molecular arrangements in a certain position, such that the hydrogen can go between the graphites in such a manner that it serves as a storage, according to an article that i read it would require pressures of 10 MPa and relatively moderate temepratures in order to extract the hydrogen. (any information that you may have on storage will be very helpful, again i must extress that price is a factor to be taken into consideration as well as the ability to work with the hydrogen and the storage, such that the hydrogen can be generated on site, well maybe just that we are capable of generating the hydrogen to store it and that it will be release in a manner that it will work)
I may need an inverter in order to satisfy the voltage needed for the motor
Any other information that you may be able to provide, such as an item that i may need but did not put here, or maybe if you are capable of helping my group with the project, or information (probably the most important) will be greatly appreciated.... we need all the help that we can get....
:drive2:
ChemBuddy | 
Chem Reddit | 
Topic: need help with fuel cell research (Read 11796 times)