] QuantumSphere, one of several companies investigating
] materials that could become alternatives to platinum, has
] developed a nano nickel material that costs only a
] quarter as much as platinum, according to the company's
] chief scientific officer, Douglas Carpenter. Platinum
] costs about $10,000 per pound, while nano nickel can be
] mass-produced for a fraction of that, according to
] Carpenter.
]
] Carpenter said the nano nickel can be created by boiling
] nickel and then re-condensing it into droplets smaller
] than 20 nanometers. "Nano nickel acts more like platinum
] than nickel," Carpenter said, in describing the
] material's physical properties. Carpenter said the
] company has applied for three patents for its production
] technology. "Nano nickel has the potential to replace
] platinum as the main catalytic material in a variety of
] hydrogen fuel cells," Carpenter said. "In 10 years, (nano
] nickel) will become commoditized."

I don't understand how nano nickel will become commoditized any faster or better than platinum membrane production. True, you could say that there's much more nickel production capacity than platinum, but we also figured out how to make synthetic diamonds too, so what's the big deal about platinum?

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