Fuel cell

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—With prices at the gas pump hovering around $1.60 a gallon, a University of Florida researcher is improving on a new technology that could make cars three or four times more efficient without sacrificing comfort or power. Eric Wachsman, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, recently received a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to build on promising research results involving fuel cells. The three-year project could hasten commercial application of a type of fuel cell known as the solid oxide fuel cell that would replace the internal combustion engine as the automobile’s power plant.

(UF photo by Joe Richard)
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