JUST ADD WATER!


pull it out and drop it to generate hydro- gen where I need it,” Houck said.


To begin the reaction, the powder—loose or compressed—is mixed with water in a canister. Te hydrogen that is created then feeds into a fuel cell, where it can generate electricity for vehicles, computer systems or anything that needs power. One kilogram of the powder can gener- ate 4.4 kilowatt-hours of energy—enough to power 10, 60-watt incandescent light- bulbs for more than seven hours or the equivalent LED bulbs for over 50 hours, Giri said. And the only emission from the reaction is water—pure water, Roberts said.


If the reaction is created using a fixed amount of water, a Soldier could get back about 50 percent of the original water,


with diminishing water returns, Giri said. Once the water source runs out, the Soldier would be out of power. Given an unlimited supply of water and powder, the reaction could continuously produce hydrogen for fuel. Te source of water doesn’t have to be pure water, either—it can be any water-based liquid, like coffee, soda, wastewater, spit or even urine.


“We noticed that urine worked best so far in this reaction,” Roberts said. “We’re not quite sure if it’s because it is a little acidic, or if it’s because of the electrolytes in it or the salts in it that’s causing it to react a little bit faster. But we did notice [the reaction] goes almost twice as fast with the urine.”


Te emissions from the reaction would not change, even if the water-based liquid


“One of the


least expensive ways the Army can procure a capability is by developing a technology that hopefully has what we call dual use.


”


were varied. “Tat’s the great thing. You could use urine to create this energy, right? And then what comes out on the other side is pure water. So then you could have drinking water again,” Roberts said.


A SCIENTIFIC SURPRISE


Roberts watches the pressure gauge on a fuel canister, waiting for the nanogal- vanic aluminum-based powder to react with water, releasing hydrogen to power a remote-controlled tank in a demonstration. Scientists discovered this hydro- gen reaction accidentally in 2017 while trying to develop an aluminum alloy.


CONCLUSION Practical applications for the powder cover the spectrum of electrical power needs, in both the Army and commercially. ARL and the powder’s development team are currently working with U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Develop- ment and Engineering Center on the ZH2 tactical wheeled vehicle, a modified Chevrolet Colorado truck that will run on hydrogen-electric power. “Te hydrogen was produced in a different manner, which is very cumbersome, expensive, not easy to do,” Giri said. “We are working with them to replace their method of produc- ing hydrogen by our method.”


54


Army AL&T Magazine


October-December 2018


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