Fuel Cells Mr. Groves Lovely Technology

Karl Kordesch left Vienna in 1953, ostensibly on a vacation with his family and his two small children. After a somewhat surreptitious passage through the Soviet-controlled part of Lower Austria, he and his family eventually turned up in New Jersey with the US Signal Corps under the auspices of Project Paper Clip. Two years later he joined Union Carbide s research laboratory in Parma, Ohio, as a staff scientist working on batteries. At Union Carbide he eventually became a Corporate Research Fellow this meant, he recalled, complete freedom, including worldwide travel, and getting more money without the need to become a manager. Kordesch produced many patents and published lots of scientific papers. 

The air-hydrogen alkaline fuel cell of Kordesch s Austin produced a tepid 6 kilowatts in conjunction with a bank of ordinary 12-volt lead-acid batteries (for acceleration and hill climbing). The fuel cell s electrodes, donated by Union Carbide, had been used earlier in another ground-breaking fuel cell vehicle, General Motors Electrovan, a six-passenger van that had been converted with Kordesch s help in 1967. 

Normally, the C02 present in the atmosphere poisons the electrodes of alkaline fuel cells—one reason why transportation fuel cell developers have been concentrating on PEM-type fuel cells in the 1990s, since they are largely immune to the problem. Kordesch neatly solved that particular difficulty by installing a soda-lime air scrubber, which removed at least half of the air s C02 content of 0.03 percent. Additionally, his cell s alkaline (KOH) electrolyte absorbed some C02, reducing contamination even more. (Kordesch says the electrolyte could be easily changed when it had taken up too much C02.) 

Union Carbide had always insisted that the moped and the car were Kordesch s private projects, with the company providing support only. The reason for this was a fear of liability. Kordesch said when he went to New York to demonstrate the moped on Manhattan s sidewalks he had to take out insurance totaling 2 million for 2 days to cover possible injuries and accidents. Fortunately, nothing ever happened. 

The moped looked pretty normal except for a couple of metal boxes— the fuel cell and a NiCad battery—mounted in the frame ahead of and underneath the rider. Kordesch converted the Austrian-made Puch (bought at Sears, Roebuck) in 1966, and he drove it on public roads during his years at Union Carbide. There were two 16-volt, 400-watt hydrazine-air alkaline fuel cells and a Ni-Cad battery. The batteries could be switched in parallel or series for speed control. The range was about 60 miles on 2 liters of a 64 percent aqueous hydrazine, with an easy top speed of 25 miles per hour. 

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