Scientists in Denmark may have solved one of the toughest problems in green energy: how to make fuel cells light and powerful enough for airplanes and even space missions.
Today, planes rely almost entirely on jet fuel.
The alternative—batteries—is far too heavy. To replace 70 tons of jet fuel with lithium-ion batteries, a plane would need about 3,500 tons of batteries.
In other words, it wouldn’t even get off the ground. Fuel cells have long been considered another option, but they too have been far too heavy to work in aviation. That could be about to change.
A research team from DTU Energy and DTU Construct has redesigned fuel cells using 3D printing.
Instead of the traditional flat, heavy stacks of fuel cells made with lots of metal parts, they created a structure called a “gyroid.”
This shape, found in butterfly wings and used in advanced engineering, has a huge surface area, is very strong, and remains lightweight.
By printing the entire fuel cell out of ceramic in this gyroid form, the team produced what they call the “Monolithic Gyroidal Solid Oxide Cell,” or simply “The Monolith.”
What makes The Monolith special is its efficiency compared to its weight. It delivers more than one watt of power per gram—something never achieved before. This is the kind of performance aerospace engineers have been waiting for.
As lead researcher Venkata Karthik Nadimpalli explains, “Up until now, using electricity-based systems like batteries or fuel cells for flight didn’t make sense. But our new design shows it’s possible.”
The benefits don’t stop at weight reduction. The gyroid shape allows gases to flow more smoothly, spreads heat evenly, and adds mechanical strength. In electrolysis mode, the cells even produced hydrogen at nearly 10 times the rate of older designs. This makes the device not only powerful but also versatile.
Tests showed the new cells could handle tough conditions, such as sudden 100°C temperature swings and repeated switching between producing electricity and making hydrogen.
They stayed intact, with no cracks or layers peeling apart. That resilience could make them especially useful in space missions.
For example, NASA’s Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) currently relies on bulky equipment weighing more than 6 tons to make oxygen from the Martian atmosphere. The DTU team’s new design could cut that weight to just 800 kilograms, dramatically reducing launch costs.
Another advantage is how these new fuel cells are built. Traditional designs need many steps, several materials, and fragile seals that wear out over time.
The Monolith, on the other hand, is printed in just five steps, using a single ceramic structure. This makes it simpler, more durable, and potentially cheaper.
The researchers believe there is still room for improvement. Using thinner electrolytes, swapping expensive platinum for cheaper metals like nickel or silver, and making the design even more compact could push the technology further.
If these advances continue, 3D-printed ceramic fuel cells might one day power cleaner airplanes, spacecraft, and even renewable energy systems on Earth. It could be the breakthrough that finally makes sustainable flight a reality.
Source: KSR.
