Poul La Cour - Electrochemical Experiments

Electrochemical Experiments

With assistance from professor Pompeo Garuti of Italy he was able to develop the hydrogen storage system in a few years. Because of his personal contributions to this technology he was granted a monopoly of using Garutis patents in Denmark. From 1895 until 1902 Askov Folk High School was illuminated by a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, and although the energy originated from the wind, there does not seem to have been a single day without light, thanks to the 12 cubic metres hydrogen tank. The reason why la Cour abandoned this system in 1902 was that he failed to develop a gas engine based on hydrogen as a fuel, although years were spent on experiments. With such a motor electricity could be reproduced, and la Cour soon realized that electricity was the energy medium of the future. He then tried other forms electrochemical energy storage, the idea being to develop prototypes of small cottage industry: from limestone and coal he produced Calcium carbide according to the process of Thomas L Willson and from salt he produced soda lye, sodium hydroxide. This did not turn into cottage industries but gave rise to some small Danish companies “Dansk Acetylen gasværk” og ”Dansk elektrolytisk Alkalindustri”. His last electrochemical idea was the small scale production of artificial fertilizer using the process just invented by the Norwegians, Kristian Birkeland and Sam Eyde.