Study Questions:
1. How exactly do fuel cells work?
2. Compare the efficiencies and pollution of gas powered vs electric vs hydrogen cars
3. Explain how the AUTOnomy car is different from any other car so far developed for the market. Give at least 4 new features. How can this car be made locally tocut costs?
4. Discuss the importance of design and styling to developing and creating demand for environmentally-friendly automobiles. Is it as important as the technology?
5. What earlier technological development parallels the enormous social, economic and political changes that would come about with a move towards hydrogen-powered vehicles? what will change with the acceptance of hydrogen technology by consumers?
6. What is a Solid Hydrogen Storage System? how does it work? what is its importance?
7. What are some other inventions of the Ovshinskys? What allows them to be so creative?
8. Using the video, notes (and research online if necessary): How does the Prius hydrid car work? How does it get back the energy regular cars waste?

There are 3 sections for the notes:
Part I, the most difficult, describes how fuel cells work.. you might if you have time go the site where I got this information to see the animation: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell2.htm
If not get as much as you can from the notes and recall of the video.
Part II is the interview with the designer of the neat AUTOnomy: a car of the future
Part III: the interview with the older designers of the solid hydrogen fuel system.

Part I: How Fuel cells work

How Fuel Cells Work:
Proton Exchange Membrane
The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) uses one of the simplest reactions of any fuel cell. First, let's take a look at what's in a PEM fuel cell: Figure 1. The parts of a PEM fuel cell

In Figure 1 you can see there are four basic elements of a PEMFC:
* The anode, the negative post of the fuel cell, has several jobs. It conducts the electrons that are freed from the hydrogen molecules so that they can be used in an external circuit. It has channels etched into it that disperse the hydrogen gas equally over the surface of the catalyst.
* The cathode, the positive post of the fuel cell, has channels etched into it that distribute the oxygen to the surface of the catalyst. It also conducts the electrons back from the external circuit to the catalyst, where they can recombine with the hydrogen ions and oxygen to form water.
* The electrolyte is the proton exchange membrane. This specially treated material, which looks something like ordinary kitchen plastic wrap, only conducts positively charged ions. The membrane blocks electrons.
* The catalyst is a special material that facilitates the reaction of oxygen and hydrogen. It is usually made of platinum powder very thinly coated onto carbon paper or cloth. The catalyst is rough and porous so that the maximum surface area of the platinum can be exposed to the hydrogen or oxygen. The platinum-coated side of the catalyst faces the PEM.

Anode side:
2H2 => 4H+ + 4e-
Cathode side:
O2 + 4H+ + 4e- => 2H2O
Net reaction:
2H2 + O2 => 2H2O

YOU MUST GO TO THE SITE FOR THE ANIMATIONS FOR --http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell2.htm

Figure 2 shows the pressurized hydrogen gas (H2) entering the fuel cell on the anode side.
This gas is forced through the catalyst by the pressure. When an H2 molecule comes in contact with the platinum on the catalyst, it splits into two H+ ions and two electrons (e-). The electrons are conducted through the anode, where they make their way through the external circuit (doing useful work such as turning a motor) and return to the cathode side of the fuel cell.
Meanwhile, on the cathode side of the fuel cell, oxygen gas (O2) is being forced through the catalyst, where it forms two oxygen atoms. Each of these atoms has a strong negative charge. This negative charge attracts the two H+ ions through the membrane, where they combine with an oxygen atom and two of the electrons from the external circuit to form a water molecule (H2O).
This reaction in a single fuel cell produces only about 0.7 volts. To get this voltage up to a reasonable level, many separate fuel cells must be combined to form a fuel-cell stack.
PEMFCs operate at a fairly low temperature (about 176 degrees Fahrenheit, 80 degrees Celsius), which means they warm up quickly and don't require expensive containment structures. Constant improvements in the engineering and materials used in these cells have increased the power density to a level where a device about the size of a small piece of luggage can power a car.

Problems with Fuel Cells
We learned in the last section that a fuel cell uses oxygen and hydrogen to produce electricity. The oxygen required for a fuel cell comes from the air. In fact, in the PEM fuel cell, ordinary air is pumped into the cathode. The hydrogen is not so readily available, however. Hydrogen has some limitations that make it impractical for use in most applications. For instance, you don't have a hydrogen pipeline coming to your house, and you can't pull up to a hydrogen pump at your local gas station.
Hydrogen is difficult to store and distribute, so it would be much more convenient if fuel cells could use fuels that are more readily available. This problem is addressed by a device called a reformer. A reformer turns hydrocarbon or alcohol fuels into hydrogen, which is then fed to the fuel cell. Unfortunately, reformers are not perfect. They generate heat and produce other gases besides hydrogen. They use various devices to try to clean up the hydrogen, but even so, the hydrogen that comes out of them is not pure, and this lowers the efficiency of the fuel cell.
Some of the more promising fuels are natural gas, propane and methanol. Many people have natural-gas lines or propane tanks at their house already, so these fuels are the most likely to be used for home fuel cells. Methanol is a liquid fuel that has similar properties to gasoline. It is just as easy to transport and distribute, so methanol may be a likely candidate to power fuel-cell cars.

Efficiency of Fuel Cells
Pollution reduction is one of the primary goals of the fuel cell. By comparing a fuel-cell-powered car to a gasoline-engine-powered car and a battery-powered car, you can see how fuel cells might improve the efficiency of cars today.
Since all three types of cars have many of the same components (tires, transmissions, etc.), we'll ignore that part of the car and compare efficiencies up to the point where mechanical power is generated. Let's start with the fuel-cell car. (All of these efficiencies are approximations, but they should be close enough to make a rough comparison.)
Fuel-Cell-Powered Electric Car
If the fuel cell is powered with pure hydrogen, it has the potential to be up to 80-percent efficient. That is, it converts 80 percent of the energy content of the hydrogen into electrical energy. But, as we learned in the previous section, hydrogen is difficult to store in a car. When we add a reformer to convert methanol to hydrogen, the overall efficiency drops to about 30 to 40 percent.
We still need to convert the electrical energy into mechanical work. This is accomplished by the electric motor and inverter. A reasonable number for the efficiency of the motor/inverter is about 80 percent. So we have 30- to 40-percent efficiency at converting methanol to electricity, and 80-percent efficiency converting electricity to mechanical power. That gives an overall efficiency of about 24 to 32 percent.

Gasoline and Battery Power
Gasoline-Powered Car
The efficiency of a gasoline-powered car is surprisingly low. All of the heat that comes out as exhaust or goes into the radiator is wasted energy. The engine also uses a lot of energy turning the various pumps, fans and generators that keep it going. So the overall efficiency of an automotive gas engine is about 20 percent. That is, only about 20 percent of the thermal-energy content of the gasoline is converted into mechanical work.
Battery-Powered Electric Car
This type of car has a fairly high efficiency. The battery is about 90-percent efficient (most batteries generate some heat, or require heating), and the electric motor/inverter is about 80-percent efficient. This gives an overall efficiency of about 72 percent.
But that is not the whole story. The electricity used to power the car had to be generated somewhere. If it was generated at a power plant that used a combustion process (rather than nuclear, hydroelectric, solar or wind), then only about 40 percent of the fuel required by the power plant was converted into electricity. The process of charging the car requires the conversion of alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power. This process has an efficiency of about 90 percent.
So, if we look at the whole cycle, the efficiency of an electric car is 72 percent for the car, 40 percent for the power plant and 90 percent for charging the car. That gives an overall efficiency of 26 percent. The overall efficiency varies considerably depending on what sort of power plant is used. If the electricity for the car is generated by a hydroelectric plant for instance, then it is basically free (we didn't burn any fuel to generate it), and the efficiency of the electric car is about 65 percent.

Part II: The AUTOnomy: a car of the future.
It has no engine, no gasoline, no steering wheel and no exhaust.
In 2002, a vision of the car of the future was unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show. Called the AUTOnomy, it did away with almost everything we've come to expect from cars: it had no engine, no gasoline, no mechanical links between the controls and the wheels, no steering wheel--and it produced no exhaust.
This prototype, on which General Motors is placing a billion dollar bet, is largely the brainchild of two men: Chris Borroni-Bird and Larry Burns. Both men want to reinvent the car as we know it by combining technology with design to create a vehicle that's as appealing to drivers as it is friendly to the environment.
Achieving environmental sustainability means making cars that use less oil and produce less pollution, and GM isn't the only car company looking ahead. Alan gets up close and personal with entries from all of the major automobile manufacturers at the 2003 Challenge Bibendum, an annual competition of environmentally-friendly vehicles, in California.
The first Model T was built in 1908
 
While GM's drivable version of the AUTOnomy concept car, called the Hywire, is a darling at the Challenge Bibendum, the car will not be available anytime soon. In the meantime, the Toyota Prius--a so-called hybrid vehicle because it supplements its gas engine with electric motors--is already on the road.
Alan takes the Prius for a spin and finds that having both electric and gasoline power means that the hybrid can switch back and forth between the two power sources to achieve maximum efficiency. For instance, when the car needs extra power to climb a hill, both gas and electricity kick in. Downhill, the gas engine quits and the car converts the motion of the vehicle, which would normally be lost as heat from braking, into electricity to regenerate the battery.
While some companies work to develop new, non-traditional cars like the Prius, others hope to improve upon existing models. Several European and some U.S. manufacturers, including Ford, are looking to diesel power.
Diesels get about 30 percent better mileage and emit less carbon dioxide than gas-powered cars, but they put out more smoke. Alan visits the emissions control lab at Ford to see how a diesel's exhaust can be cleaned up to meet strict U.S. standards. The plan is to employ a modified version of the standard catalytic converter. By trapping and then burning off soot particles, the new catalytic converters can bring down emissions by a factor of a hundred, or even a thousand.
Back at the Challenge Bibendum, Alan goes for a ride in the tzero--a sports car that is capturing most of the environmental awards. Powered entirely by batteries, the tzero produces no emissions at all and can rocket from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than four seconds.
An earlier shortcoming of electric-powered cars was their short battery life. But today, Dan Kammen of the University of California, Berkeley explains, companies have found a way to design lighter batteries that run longer without needing charging--300 miles for the tzero.

Interview with Borroni-Bird

May 19 , 2004 — In "Future Car," Alan Alda and SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS explore the automobiles of tomorrow, from cleaner-burning diesel engines to drive-by-wire hydrogen cars. Among the scientists featured in the program is Chris Borroni-Bird of General Motors. Borroni-Bird is one of the world's leading experts on fuel cells. He directs GM's Design and Technology Fusion Group, which focuses on the critical relationship between technology and design innovations. He is also Program Manager of GM's AUTOnomy and Hywire concept cars, the first vehicles designed around a fuel cell propulsion system and the first to combine fuel cells with by-wire technology, which allows vehicle systems to be controlled electronically rather than mechanically.

-Here, Borroni-Bird discusses the likelihood, challenges and global implications of a switch to hydrogen-powered automobiles.

Scientific American Frontiers: Most Americans see a transition to hydrogen-fueled cars as a pipe dream--is it?
Chris Borroni-Bird:No, it is not a pipe dream. We are making a considerable investment in developing fuel cell technology with the intent of producing fuel cell vehicles that are commercially viable by the end of the decade.
Hydrogen fuel cells offer the best chance to create credible zero emissions vehicles (because range and refueling time are far more acceptable than with battery powered vehicles, which are the only other possible type of ZEV). Moreover, if we take full advantage of what the fuel cell can deliver in terms of design flexibility and electrical power it will be possible to offer new vehicle benefits not easily achievable with conventional vehicles (e.g. improved safety, attractive design, impressive launch and maneuverability, home backup power, etc.).
The transformation to a hydrogen infrastructure is going to take some time. But, we are convinced there are creative ways to give it a "kick start" until the market forces take over. We are actively engaged with energy companies and government agencies in looking for ways to accelerate the evolution to a hydrogen infrastructure.
Scientific American Frontiers: For you personally, what is the main impetus to move towards hydrogen-powered vehicles? How much is following the technical challenge and how much is fulfilling a social responsibility?
Chris Borroni-Bird:What I feel is truly exciting about the forthcoming hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is that it enables us to reinvent the automobile in such a way that the customer will fall in love with the vehicle for its unique look and functionality and not simply because it is environmentally responsible and eliminates our dependence on Middle East oil. After all, the automobile may be unique among all products in that it is combines both very strong emotional (status symbol, "rolling sculpture") and highly rational (technical, societal) elements.

Scientific American Frontiers: Discuss the importance of design and styling to developing and creating demand for environmentally-friendly automobiles. Is it as important as the technology? And what has stood in the way of marrying design and environmental concerns before?
Chris Borroni-Bird: For fuel cell vehicles to sell in large enough quantities to make a societal difference they will need to look attractive and offer useful features that are not easily available with the conventional internal combustion engine vehicle because there are only a small number of people who buy vehicles for environmental reasons only. Fuel cell vehicles will be marketed and promoted differently and a unique look will help to communicate this. Fundamentally, the technology has to deliver a certain level of performance at an acceptable price, but a key differentiator, as with conventional vehicles, may well be the exterior proportions and interior spaciousness and design. Typically, environmentally-friendly technologies are developed without much regard to design-enabling benefits because the assumption is that environmental benefit is sufficient. However, my group's mission and name-Design and Technology Fusion-communicates the importance we attach to thinking about technology through the lens of design. When executed correctly, the two have a symbiotic relationship in that good design promotes technology and vice versa.
Scientific American Frontiers: Given the importance of oil on the domestic and foreign policy of the United States, what sociopolitical changes could we expect from a switch to hydrogen-powered cars?
Chris Borroni-Bird: Fuel cell-powered vehicles have the potential to revolutionize power and mobility. Imagine a world where we do not have to concern ourselves with the supply of oil from the Middle East-it would revolutionize government priorities, military spending and make Americans feel much more safe and secure. Imagine that the hydrogen fuel could come from a variety of sources, such as from corn (Midwest), hydroelectric power (Quebec), nuclear power (California), solar cells (Southwest), wind (Dakotas), etc. Not only would this create very many, technologically advanced new jobs, but this diversity would also dramatically stabilize the economy from fluctuations in supply from one source. At a more personal level, imagine being able to refuel at home (using home electrolyzers or reformers) each night and, in a pinch, being able to provide back-up power for the home if there is a blackout. These capabilities would give individuals more independence and options, and make life easier for them. The benefit and flexibility of this technology is so powerful that it could literally open up hundreds of new markets around the world to where entire populations who now only dream of owning an automobile will soon be able to buy one.

Scientific American Frontiers:How will the cars of the future compare to today's cars in terms of life expectancy and general durability? How many miles could we expect to get from a car like the AUTOnomy?

Chris Borroni-Bird: Fuel cells that have been placed in stationary service have demonstrated much longer durability than engine generator sets. Of course, electrical systems are not 100% reliable but I feel that the shift from mechanical systems to electrical systems should help durability and reliability, as there are fewer moving parts that can fail. I think it is possible that we could even see the day when the fuel cell powertrain so dramatically outlives the vehicle that it could lead to a situation where the technology-rich (and, therefore, major cost element) chassis might be mortgaged and that the body could be replaced far more frequently as fashions or customer needs evolve.

Scientific American Frontiers:Can you think of an earlier technological development that parallels the enormous social, economic and political changes that would come about with a move towards hydrogen-powered vehicles?
Chris Borroni-Bird: The shift to hydrogen-powered vehicles will dramatically improve the environmental and geopolitical landscape and stimulate completely new employment opportunities that evolve ever cleaner and cheaper hydrogen production. If the hydrogen is used in a fuel cell, rather than an engine, additional revolutionary implications can emerge such as a true reinvention of the automobile and an accelerated shift towards decentralized electricity generation and electrification. Within the field of energy, this shift to hydrogen could be compared with the shift from coal to oil in the 19th century; that shift enabled the benefits of a piston engine for propelling automobiles and aircraft. In terms of power, the shift to fuel cells could be as significant as the introduction of electricity 100 years ago and would reverse the centralizing nature of today's electric power generation, transmission and distribution. Another more recent analogy might be with the Internet in that this shift does for energy, environment and electricity what the Internet has accomplished for information and communications.

Scientific American Frontiers: How would you like to see hydrogen fuel manufactured?
Chris Borroni-Bird: I would like to see hydrogen manufactured in a way that makes the world a cleaner place and makes everyone less dependent on a volatile region of the world for their energy supply. In the near-term, hydrogen that is made from natural gas can help on both of these counts, but the real improvements will occur when hydrogen can be made affordably from renewable sources. Only then will this energy revolution be complete.

Part III: Read an interview with Stan and Iris and check out a list of Ovshinsky's inventions.

by Maggie Villiger May 19 , 2004 — The solid hydrogen storage system Stan and Iris Ovshinsky showed Alan at the Challenge Bibendum is just one of the many inventions to come out of their partnership.
Since the 1950s, Stan Ovshinsky has been a pioneer in the new field of disordered materials, which utilizes the properties of substances that don't have the ordered structure of a crystal, for instance.The Ovshinkys founded Energy Conversion Devices to develop disordered materials technology and to figure out how to use the technology to solve serious societal problems. They decided to concentrate their efforts on questions of energy production and storage. Hundreds of patents, five children and 45-years later, they are still at it:

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS: Working as a team is not usually the easiest. How do you make it work?
STAN: By being in love I think.
IRIS: We're very, very lucky because many people over the years have sort of said to us, "Oh my God I couldn't work with my wife, etcetera. How do you do it?" And we just like to be together.
STAN: It works out wonderfully well. We're continuously talking things over. I'm the inventor, and Iris is a wonderful contributor, and she's very wise, makes some good suggestions…. She has her Ph.D. in biochemistry. I couldn't do it without her. Nor could I have achieved the things we did without her. It's just been a great experience, a great life, not only fulfilling as an inventor, but as a way of living.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS: That's a very inspirational picture that you paint. What about your personalities do you think is important in your pairing and also that makes you successful as an inventing team?
 
STAN: I think the fact that we share common values. Iris is so bright that I can talk to her about anything and then-- I'm able to address the things that I need to have in hand. We work every day including weekends, doing things that fit into our work. And we work at night when we can, and come home from work here. We're fortunate that we're only about six minutes from our labs.
IRIS: As Stan said, the shared values are so important. We founded ECD with the express purpose of using science and technology to solve serious societal problems. And both of us are dedicated to that, and that's why everything we've done has been to make for a better environment and better life for people.
STAN: Therefore it's never been argumentative or debating in the way people might do. I love criticisms from her. We just work together in everything. And there's just Stan-Iris, or Iris-Stan.

.SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS: It sounds like every idea that you have, people would say "It can't be done," or "That will take way too long."
IRIS: That is absolutely true.
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS: What do you take from that, and how do you use it?
STAN: Well I use it philosophically. What we do has never been considered as possible, or people tried and failed, either one. We get basic patents. We use that time of incredulousness or skepticism, which is natural, on something that is dramatically different. And then we don't allow the criticism to do anything but spur us on. It goes with our belief that you don't talk about it, or wave your hands, we do it like we did at the Bibendum. We always build it to show that it works. And when that does it, that shifts the debate pattern. It's very difficult for somebody to say it ain't going to work when you're driving around in a car with it.
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS: But what is it about you guys that you can look beyond what people see in the day to day, and see the possibilities?

STAN: Well I think that's a very good question. First of all I don't play in the stock markets, I don't try to foresee the future in any way, I don't claim any extraordinary power. But I do know what society needs, and I think that the industry, building new industries, that that is an absolute requirement. Old industries are cyclical. Whether it's oil or whether it's automotive or whether semiconductors, they're all cyclical. Which means that the ups and downs can be very extreme at times. And the only thing that generates new jobs is innovation. So I "know" where science is going. And the global economy depends on energy and information, they're the twin pillars of our global economy. So I picked the ones that I knew were fundamental to our society, and to our global society, and then made, so to speak, revolutionary changes.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS: Stan, you mentioned that you have been inventing for a very long time. What do you think of as your first invention? Were you a kid who was always thinking of better ways to squeeze the toothpaste tube and things like that?
IRIS: No no he's very inventive. My mother used to say, "Why can't his inventions do this or that," but he's not interested, he's not a tinkerer at all.  
In 1960, Stan showing Iris his energy loop starting with hydrogen fusion in the sun.

STAN: Edison was a great, great inventor but he would try a thousand things to get a result. Scientists make fun of that and that was called the Edisonian Method. I think that Edison was a bit smarter than that. That's like saying that a thousand monkeys can write Shakespeare. But that is not the way-- I know what I want, I know what I'm going to do, and I use the periodic chart of atoms as if it's an engineering diagram. It's not throwing darts at the periodic table. So I know what I can do and I just go ahead and do it. And I'm very blessed by having the help of a great team of people here. Colleagues and collaborators through the years, and a great group of people here, we're a meritocracy. Even though we have a lot of Ph.D.'s you don't have to be a Ph.D. to-- Otherwise I wouldn't be here, Iris is the only Ph.D. in our family.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS: Do you think not having that Ph.D. credential, in some way frees you? Does not having had that rigid sort of training open your mind in a different way?
IRIS: I definitely think that's true.
STAN: In the early days it made me an easy target to some of the scientists.
IRIS: They looked at his work skeptically because he didn't have a Ph.D.
STAN: However, let me say this. When young people go to school they have to really respect authority and follow it. So they take, so to speak, orders when they go to grade school, high school, and then when they go to college. And all the time they're being treated in a "giving of information to you" kind of way. And then when they get out of school they say, "Okay, now you're on your own, think, be creative." After all those years of trying to kill it. And so you have to be an unusual person to survive and to do original work. So I think in that sense I think that you're absolutely right, and I think my scientific colleagues who told me the same thing, over and over again, I think that they must be right.
IRIS: The other thing you have to say, I mean he has an amazingly inventive mind. And he reads constantly. He's got way more than a Ph.D. in terms of all the stuff that he studies himself every single day.
STAN: That's true, I'm 81 and I'm still learning. I love learning. The fact is that in science it's your contributions that are important. And I look upon science differently, and that is that nature, God if you're religious, did not make disciplines. Man did, humans did. And therefore I don't recognize separation of disciplines. So I have published in neurophysiology, neuropsychiatry, cosmology, solid state physics, chemistry, physics, materials science, and so on. Wherever I feel I can make a contribution, that people want what I have to invent. That's fine, I work in it, and I get great joy out of it

Over the past 50 years, the Ovshinskys have invented a number of useful products, most based on Stan's early insight into to disordered amorphous materials. Here are a few of his inventions: Thin film photovoltaics
Photovoltaic cells (PVs) convert sunlight into usable electricity. In theory, we could use PVs to meet all our energy needs; the supply of sunlight is virtually boundless and there are no greenhouse gas emissions involved. Instead of the traditional heavy glass, Stan Ovshinsky utilized the characteristics of amorphous materials to make a light, flexible substrate for photovoltaics. These thin film photovoltaics have been turned into roof shingles, bring affordable energy to remote villages, even helped power the Mir space station.
Nickel metal hydride batteries
All batteries create electricity when electrons flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal. Utilizing the features of disordered materials, Stan Ovshinsky invented a rechargeable battery that's longer lasting, lighter and takes up only a third as much space as a conventional battery. He says it's environmentally safe, too, for instance lacking the lead found in traditional auto batteries. In an NiMH battery, the negative electrode is the metal hydride and the positive is nickel hydroxide. Now they are used in everything from cell phones, to laptop computers, to electric and hybrid cars.
 
Rewritable CD and DVDs
Before anyone was even buying music on CD, Stan Ovshinsky had figured out how the compact disk would be the perfect medium for a data storage technique called reversible optical memory. The technology relies on Stan's original insight that disordered materials - unlike a crystal, for instance - lack a fixed pattern in their structural organization. When energy is added to the system, disordered materials can shift to a more structured state. As the material switches to a more organized state, it transforms from being a nonconductor to a semiconductor. This conductivity change is named the Ovshinsky Effect. The phase change opened the door for rewritable CDs and DVDs that can physically change thousands of times and hold much more data than a conventional floppy disk.

Solid Hydrogen Storage System
If hydrogen is going to be the fuel of the future, society will need an easy and safe way to transport and store it. Stan thinks he's hit on the solution with his solid hydrogen storage system. It's a metal hydride solid which can be stored in a granular, inert form in compact tanks. It's as easy to fuel up a vehicle with this solid hydrogen as it is to gas up a conventional car. When the car needs fuel, a little energy from the battery system heats up the solid and releases hydrogen gas. Solid hydrogen is currently powering some internal combustion engines on modified Toyota Priuses, and Ovshinsky hopes it will spur fuel cell implementation.


 
Ideas still in the R&D phase
A couple decades past when most people start thinking retirement, Stan shows no sign of slowing down. His company is working on what they're calling a regenerative fuel cell. They say it will be more affordable than current fuel cells because of the materials it's made of, and that it will be able to operate in a much wider temperature range - but they're keeping quiet about the details until all the patents are in. Stan also spends plenty of time on his pet project, a cognitive computer which he says is the next generation of smart computer. Stan's original insight into amorphous and disordered materials came from modeling neurons and how brains work, so it's a natural progression to tackle a cognitive computer.