The Ins and Outs of Fuel Cells
I’m a huge proponent of fuel cells as an alternative energy source. I believe that fuel cells have superior advantages over other alternative energy sources such as wind and solar which I will discuss at a later date. However now I will discuss the in’s and out’s of fuel cells. Most people doesn’t know anything about fuel cells because wind and solar get most of the publicity and if fuel cells do get any pub it’s usually related to the auto industry. Fuel cells can be used for stationary applications as well as back up power and portable applications.
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that produces electricity and heat from fuel and oxygen. It’s cleaner and more efficient than a conventional engine. Some might describe a fuel cell as a battery. This is comparison is sort of correct. A battery chemically stores and releases electricity. A fuel cell produces energy from the reaction of fuel and air. A battery will run out of power and will have to be recharged or disposed. However a fuel cell will continue to operate and produce electricity as long as fuel and oxygen are supplied to it.
Fuel cells are not new. They were invented in 1839 by Sir William Grove. In the 1950s and 60s fuel cell were used in NASA’s space program. From then on the use fuel cell ebbed and flowed until recently when the push for fuel efficient vehicles was needed.
As far as what type of fuel cells that exists, there are many. They are designated by the type of electrolyte they contain. The most common are alkaline which NASA used, molten carbonate, phosphoric acid, proton exchange membrane, direct methanol, and solid oxide. I will discuss more about fuel cells later.
