Scientists at Stanford University in the US have discovered great advances in the development of fuel cells. A research team led by Haotian Wang, a former Stanford student, found that compressing a platinum catalyst by just a fraction of a nanometer raises catalytic activity almost twice, which is a very significant fact in the development of clean energy sources. Catalysts are used to carry out chemical reactions faster, with the simultaneous use of less energy. The performance of a metal catalyst depends on its electronic structure, that is, the way the electrons are arranged in its orbit. “Our tuning technology can make fuel cells significantly more energy efficient, and will certainly increase their efficiency,” said Yi Cui, a professor of materials science at Stanford University.