A New Aluminum Alloy Is About to Drive the Evolution of Engines

Scientists discovered an aluminum-nickel alloy capable of withstanding high temperatures and corrosion, paving the way for 100% hydrogen combustion engines.

• For combustion engines to use 100 percent hydrogen, they need components that can withstand high temperatures and corrosive environments.
• Scientists from the University of Alberta discovered a new complex concentrated alloy, made from aluminum and nickel, that’s up to the task.
• These material breakthroughs will help make hydrogen power, whether in fuel cell vehicles or power plants, go mainstream.

Our warming world is in desperate need of energy sources that don’t spew greenhouse gas emissions, and one of the big contenders looking to step into that clean-energy role is hydrogen power. When used to power fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), the resulting byproduct is essentially just water vapor and warm air. But perhaps even more crucially, companies around the world are also racing to create 100 percent hydrogen power plants, since most commercial plants currently burn a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas or diesel.

While hydrogen seems like a no-brainer energy source, it does come with some immense challenges, especially that it burns at high temperatures (around 600 to 1500 degrees Celsius) compared to other fuels. This increased temperature means components of any type of hydrogen combustion engine need to withstand the rigors of such a high-heat environment as well as remain resistant to corrosion due to steam.

Now, scientists at the University of Alberta think they may have found the perfect answer: a super alloy of aluminum and nickel that could be the key ingredient for hydrogen engines of the future.

The research team detailed the attributes of this complex concentrated alloy (CCA), identified as AlCrTiVNi5, in a new paper published earlier this month in the journal Materials Today.

“If you would like to use a 100 percent hydrogen fuel combustion engine, the flame temperature is extremely high,” University of Alberta’s Jing Liu, a co-author on the paper, said in a press statement. “Until now, none of the existing metallic coatings have been able to work in a 100 percent hydrogen combustion engine. We want to know which alloys can withstand the conditions.”

Liu and his team analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of commercially available alloys and then employed theoretical simulations to discover new combinations to try to find an alloy with increased strength, durability, and ductility. By leveraging computer modeling, the team could take a close look at each new alloy to understand its properties, and it was from this laborious process that the research team eventually discovered the CCA AlCrTiVNi5.

While the alloy showed promise in simulations, it needed to also outperform existing alloys in high-heat and corrosive environments. According to the researchers, commercial alloys could only withstand such conditions for 24 hours or even less—but AlCrTiVNi5 kept on ticking.

“We understand how things react when they heat up... so we use these simulations and calculations to understand how the interface between the matter and the environment changes if we change the composition,” University of Alberta’s Hao Zhang, another co-author of the study, said in a press statement. “We did our experiment on these corrosive environments for up to 100 hours at 900 degrees Celsius and it survived, so that’s a big improvement.”

With companies already forging ahead on plans to introduce 100 percent hydrogen engines by 2026, this new alloy alone won’t spark a hydrogen revolution on its own; the research even notes that the new material still needs some more time in the lab. However, the arrival of alloys like AlCrTiVNi5 show that the future of hydrogen energy is really just getting started.

The 2023 Popular Mechanics Automotive Excellence Awards: EVs