New fuel cell breakthrough could help power energy-hungry data centers

The rapid expansion of data centers across the United States is putting growing pressure on the nation's electricity supply. These facilities require enormous amounts of power not only to operate their computing equipment, but also to keep it cool. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that data centers could account for as much as 9% of annual U.S. electricity generation by 2030, compared with 4% of total electricity demand in 2023.

Researchers are now exploring ways to reduce some of that strain. A team led by Gang Wu, the Elvera and William R. Stuckenberg Professor in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has developed an approach that could improve low-temperature fuel cells and potentially expand their use as an alternative source of electricity.

The research team also included scientists from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Northeastern University and the University of Pittsburgh. Their findings were published Aug. 6, 2026, in Nature Nanotechnology.

"If a data center is able to supply its electricity itself by using a fuel cell, it would directly convert hydrogen and other fuels into the electricity, reducing the burden on the energy grid," Wu said.

Making Fuel Cells More Efficient and Durable

Fuel cells produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen. The process also generates water and heat. Catalysts help accelerate this reaction while limiting energy losses and supporting stronger performance and longer operating life.

Designing the right catalyst remains a major challenge. Existing fuel cell catalysts still struggle to provide the combination of activity and durability needed to meet important performance goals.

Platinum is considered one of the most effective catalyst materials, but it is also a precious metal. Researchers therefore want to use as little platinum as possible without reducing the catalyst's effectiveness during energy conversion and storage.

One way to stretch a small amount of platinum further is to turn it into nanoparticles. Breaking bulk platinum into extremely small particles dramatically increases the amount of surface exposed for chemical reactions. This makes it possible to use very small quantities of the metal, typically less than one quarter of a milligram per square centimeter.

The problem is that platinum nanoparticles can change during fuel cell operation. They may dissolve, move to different locations, and grow larger, causing performance to gradually decline.

A Longstanding Platinum Catalyst Challenge

More recently, platinum intermetallic catalysts have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional platinum alloys because they can offer improved activity and stability.

Producing them, however, involves another difficult compromise. To keep the nanoparticles small, evenly distributed and efficient in their use of platinum, researchers generally anneal the materials at temperatures below 700°C. Those temperatures are often too low to fully trigger the transition from a disordered atomic arrangement to a highly ordered one, which is important for maximizing both the activity and durability of intermetallic catalysts.

Wu and his colleagues developed a new carbon structure designed to overcome this limitation. The material consists of porous, hollow carbon spheres containing orderly radial nanochannels, along with substantial pore space and surface area.

This structure allows large numbers of platinum cobalt intermetallic nanoparticles to remain densely packed yet evenly distributed. It also makes it possible to form the desired ordered intermetallic structure at much higher temperatures without causing the nanoparticles to clump together.

In this way, the researchers were able to address a difficult tradeoff between achieving a highly ordered atomic structure and maintaining an even distribution of very small catalyst particles.

"Our strategy is using this new carbon nanostructure to synthesize platinum cobalt intermetallic nanoparticles that can reduce precious metal content and enhance activity and stability," Wu said. "Traditionally, there would be a tradeoff between size and stability, but with the ordered carbon nanochannel host, platinum cobalt nanoparticles can be confined and remain stable at very small particle size even at high temperatures."

Tiny Carbon Channels Help Platinum Last Longer

Larger catalyst particles can improve stability, but that often comes at the expense of activity. Other approaches that prioritize activity may sacrifice long-term stability.

Wu's team sought to achieve both by creating a nanostructured carbon support with tiny channels arranged in a radial pattern. The researchers also carefully controlled the size and volume of the pores.

In testing, the material retained 85% of its performance after 150,000 severe voltage cycles. The researchers estimate that this could correspond to roughly 25,000 hours of operation. Its combination of larger pores, carefully organized pore sizes, and high surface area helped the catalyst overcome the usual tradeoff between activity and stability.

"Because of this special carbon nanostructured support, we could heat the platinum-cobalt catalyst to 1000°C, which is high enough to form a very ordered structure while still keeping the nanoparticles smaller than 5 nanometers and well spread out, even with industry-preferred high content of platinum in catalysts," Wu said.

Heating the catalyst to such a high temperature allowed its atoms to form the ordered structure needed for stronger performance. At the same time, the carbon support kept the platinum cobalt nanoparticles smaller than 5 nanometers and prevented them from becoming unevenly distributed.

A Potential Path Toward Better Fuel Cell Power

The architecture of the carbon support offers additional benefits beyond stabilizing the nanoparticles. Its open channels help materials involved in transporting ions spread more uniformly through the electrode. They also provide easier pathways for protons, oxygen, and water to move.

"The open channel structure also helps the ion-containing material, such as an ionomer, spread evenly and makes it easier for protons, oxygen and water to move through the electrode," Wu continued. "As a result, the platinum cobalt nanoparticles built into this support showed best-in-class performance and long-lasting durability. Eventually, through further development and collaboration with industry partners, we'll be able to solve the remaining catalyst problems and significantly advance fuel cell technologies for powering our future more efficiently and sustainably."

If further development proves successful, the technology could help improve fuel cells for applications ranging from transportation to electricity generation. For data centers in particular, fuel cells could offer a way to generate electricity directly from hydrogen or other fuels, potentially reducing some of the growing demand placed on the electric grid.

Wu has filed a patent on the technology through the WashU Office of Technology Management.

The research was funded by Washington University in St. Louis. Collaborating institutions included Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Northeastern University and the University of Pittsburgh.

Reporting from ScienceDaily contributed to this story.