• The project led by the academic of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Dr. José Zagal, intends to improve the efficiency of air batteries and fuel cells in order to increase their range and reduce the clean-energy costs.

More efficiency and range at a lower cost. These are the objectives of the innovative technology developed by the academic of Universidad de Santiago, Dr. José Zagal, to manufacture fuel cells and batteries that would allow saving up to four times more energy compared to current internal combustion engines.

This technology was presented at a conference organized by Fundación Imagen de Chile and it seeks to replace the catalysts used in these processes- mostly platinum- with cheaper materials. “We propose to replace them with iron elements, which essentially have a structure similar to the one of hemoglobin that transports oxygen in our body,” the electrochemist of Universidad de Santiago said.

The importance of this technology lies in the use of these materials in electric cars, as it is more beneficial and efficient in comparison to the technology of current internal combustion engines. “In one fuel cell, the efficiency in power conversion could reach 85% versus 20% or 25% in a traditional internal combustion engine (like the one in cars, trucks, etc.)”, Dr. Zagal said.

Therefore, according to Dr. Zagal, an electric car could travel almost four times the distance- with the same amount of fuel- in comparison with a conventional car. “Now, if we use hydrogen as fuel, it would be more expensive, but its combustion does not pollute the environment at all, as it produces water vapor and does not deliver carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, if compared to gas or diesel,” he added.

This technology is also useful in other areas. For example, it can be used by the military, by ships, and also to give energy support to homes. Besides, it allows supplying electric power to distant places, where electricity can be generated by solar-cell panels or wind turbines.

“This issue is very much alive in the world today. It is considered very important, very urgent and, as research work in Chile is seen as a model, it can lead us to more ambitious projects in the future,” Dr. Zagal said.

Myriam Gómez, Director of Fundación Imagen de Chile, agrees with him by saying that “conducting research and developing technologies at this level, with a high impact and public interest, certainly make us a model and position Chile at the forefront of world science, giving prestige to the country and its researchers.”

About Dr. Zagal

Dr. Zagal is an academic at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Universidad de Santiago. He has worked for more than 40 years in the field of electrochemistry and he has been honored by major international societies, like the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE), and the Electrochemical Society (ECS) of the United States, that appointed him “Fellow”, for the number of his publications and their impact, the number of citations of his work, and his contribution to the education of many undergraduate and graduate students, among others.

One of Dr. Zagal’s research lines is the study of catalysts to optimize the energy efficiency of storage devices like fuel cells. In this context, Dr. Zagal has a wide knowledge of materials like hydrogen and fuels like oxygen, which are essential for the commercialization of electric cars and fuel cells and batteries that they require.

About Fundación Imagen de Chile

Fundación Imagen de Chile has the primary mission of setting the strategic guidelines to show Chile and its most outstanding attributes to the world by appealing to world public opinion and having an impact on the way the country is perceived abroad. To optimize Chile’s positioning abroad, it coordinates the work of different government agencies in charge of international promotion with the work of the private sector.

Translated by Marcela Contreras