A fuel cell technology that uses water!

Interesting news from TechOn New Fuel Cell System 'Generates Electricity with Only Water, Air'

Genepax Co Ltd has devised a fuel cell technology that uses a "Water Energy System (WES)," or, water as a fuel and does not emit CO2:

The system can generate power just by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes, respectively....The basic power generation mechanism of the new system is similar to that of a normal fuel cell, which uses hydrogen as a fuel. According to Genepax, the main feature of the new system is that it uses the company's membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which contains a material capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.
Though the company did not reveal the details, [it has used] a well-known process to produce hydrogen from water to the MEA.... This process is allegedly similar to the mechanism that produces hydrogen by a reaction of metal hydride and water. But compared with the existing method, the new process is expected to produce hydrogen from water for [a] longer time...With the new process, the cell needs only water and air, eliminating the need for a hydrogen reformer and high-pressure hydrogen tank. Moreover, the MEA requires no special catalysts, and the required amount of rare metals such as platinum is almost the same as that of existing systems.... Unlike the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), which uses methanol as a fuel, the new system does not emit CO2. In addition, it is expected to have a longer life because catalyst degradation (poisoning) caused by CO2 does not occur on the fuel electrode side.

For the future, the company intends to provide 1kw-class generation systems for use in electric vehicles and houses. Instead of driving electric vehicles with this system alone, the company expects to use it as a generator to charge the secondary battery used in electric vehicles. Although the production cost is currently about ¥2,000,000 (US$18,522), it can be reduced to ¥500,000 or lower if Genepax succeeds in mass production. The company believes that its fuel cell system can compete with residential solar cell systems if the cost can be reduced to this level.

Whether this will translate further into indistrial facilities remains to be seen but power companies will be watching these type of developments with a keen eye.