Green locomotion: Engineering team plans fuel-cell equipped Segway

By Chris Horn

If you're into eco-friendly locomotion, Segway human transporters are a pretty cool way to go from here to there.

Chemical engineering professor John Weidner hopes to make the battery-powered scooter more versatile while remaining environmentally friendly by adding a hydrogen fuel cell to prolong the Segway's running time.

"We have a grant from the Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge to add a fuel cell to a Segway," said Weidner, a University engineering professor since 1991 who concentrates his electrochemistry research on batteries, fuel cells,  hydrogen production, and new materials associated with each. "By August, we hope to have it up and running."

Weidner, post-doctoral fellow V.J. Sethuraman, and department engineer Chuck Holland won't remove the Segway's lithium-ion battery. Instead, they'll add a fuel cell that will help to keep the battery charged during typical stop-and-go use.

"Segway says you can run their product for about an hour at top speed, but most users run them sporadically, not continuously, and probably get two or three hours from a single charge," Weidner said. "With a fuel cell-equipped Segway, you'll be able to go even longer because every time you stop, the battery will get a little more charging from the fuel cell."

Weidner doesn't yet know how much longer the modified Segway will operate, but the important thing is being able to demonstrate the marriage of fuel cell and battery technology.

"It takes hours to charge a lithium-ion battery, but a fuel cell is easily recharged: just switch out the hydrogen fuel canister," he said. "In this case, the fuel cell will help to charge the battery between routine plug-in chargings."

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