Jennifer
Bauman
believes
that
fuel-cell
vehicles
could
be
the
cars
of
the
future
–
but
only
if
they
can
be
made
affordable.
Jennifer
has
a
long
history
of
work
with
fuel
cells
at
Waterloo,
first
as
a
member
of
the
Alternative
Fuels
Team
and
then
as
a
doctoral
candidate
in
electrical
engineering.
But
she
can
sum
up
her
years
of
work
in
one
sentence:
“I’m
trying
to
make
fuel-cell
cars
cheaper.”
Fuel
cells
are
still
far
more
expensive
than
internal-combustion
engines
or
batteries.
The
key
to
more
affordable
fuel-cell
cars,
therefore,
is
using
the
smallest
fuel
cell
possible.
Current
demonstration
vehicles
often
have
80-kilowatt
fuel
cells.
“But
you
only
need
20
or
30
kilowatts
for
normal
driving,”
says
Jennifer.
“Is
such
a
big
fuel
cell
really
the
right
approach?”
Better,
she
says,
to
use
a
smaller
fuel
cell,
and
make
more
use
of
an
energy-storage
device
to
provide
additional
power
when
it’s
needed
for
tasks
like
accelerating,
going
uphill
or
towing
a
load.
She’s
designing
the
power
electronics
that
will
make
that
possible.
“There
are
many
people
trying
to
perfect
fuel-cell
vehicle
technology,”
she
says,
“but
they
often
ignore
costs.
I
think
we
have
to
remember
that
we’re
talking
about
cars.
Manufacturers
want
to
make
money,
and
consumers
want
a
good
deal.”
Graduate student, Electrical Engineering