Fuel Cell Systems (original) (raw)

Understanding the history of fuel cells

2007 IEEE Conference on the History of Electric Power, 2007

Fuel cells are one of the key enabling technologies for future hydrogen economy. For the last 20 years applications for the fuel cells are mostly replacing internal combustions engines, and providing power in stationary and portable power applications. But the history of the fuel cells is more than the last 20 years; actually it has more than 150 years! It is the purpose of this paper to present the development of the fuel cells across the time. The paper discuss the typical characteristics and electrochemical reactions a fuel cell. Additionally, the paper presents the basic concepts, applications for the six main types of fuel cell technologies. Finally, it is intended with the paper to present the concepts and history related to the fuel cells in a basic way. This paper will be very helpful for undergraduate researches, history and professional engineers without previous knowledge of the technical fields related to the fuel cells.

Fuel Cells-A Signpost to Future

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering

In a few decades, fuel cells have gained moreinterest as a zero emission source of energy. Fuel cells are intensive sources that extrude power from hydrogenand oxygen directly at low voltage. Fuel cells have passed demonstration stage, have been marketable because of the remarkable worldwide research and development. Fuel cells offer a promising alternative to conventional energy conversion technologies for a wide range of applications. Fuel cells can also be an interesting solution for many power sources. This paper presents an overview of different fuel cells and their applications emphasizing that fuel cells is a sign post to the future.

Fuel cells, an alternative to standard sources of energy

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2002

Three E's are the national energy policy drivers of any country of the world, Energy security, Economic growth and Environmental protection. A fuel cell is an energy conversion device that produces electricity by electrochemically combining fuel (hydrogen) and oxidant (oxygen from the air) gases through electrodes and across an ion conducting electrolyte. The principal characteristic of a fuel cell is its ability to convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy giving much higher conversion efficiencies than any conventional thermo-mechanical system thus extracting more electricity from the same amount of fuel, operate without combustion so they are virtually pollution free and have quieter operation since there are no moving parts. The emission of fuel cells running on hydrogen derived from a renewable source will be nothing but water vapour. Fuel cells are presently under development for a variety of power generation applications in response to the critical need for a cleaner energy technology. This paper reviews the existing or emerging fuel cells technologies, their design and operation, their limitations and their benefits in connection with energy, environment and sustainable development relationship. Few potential applications of fuel cell will be discussed. 

Fuel Cell and Its Applications: A Review

Energy is the most fundamental requirement of today's era. Energy is consumed very rapidly. The energy requirements are very increasing. Our population, abundant energy resources and industrial diversity make our self proficient enough in producing and consuming energy. This will definitely leads in contributing to the national economy. It is the fact that initially there is a cost issue with every new technology but gradually developing mind we can cope up with it. The need for optimization in cost and efficiency can create systems which are cost effective, non-hazardous in nature, commercially available, clean fuel, compete with regular ongoing systems, inherently safe in handling, having renewable power and sustainable to nature. We envision a future where industries can fulfil the growing demands in an environmentally sustainable way. Hydrogen fuel cells have the real potential to be the future technology in terms of applicability. This technology has the solution to the problem of increasing requirements in an environmentally viable option. This review article presents the working operation of Hydrogen Fuel Cell, Classification of fuel cell in a comparable way, applications, new developments, future technologies and economic growth. Fuel cell is very much similar to the electrochemical cell or an ordinary dry cell. There are basically three components in each and every fuel cell. They are cathode, anode and electrolyte. They are connected with the electrical circuit. This construction has no rotating parts in its design. Hence, they are pretty simple and efficient in design. The classification is based on the type of electrolyte used.

Fuel Cell Technologies and Applications

This paper provides a review of the various technologies of fuel cells based on the publications throughout the past century. It also highlights the various applications of the fuel cell technology in day to day life resulting in the development of a viable option to the existing energy production techniques. As a clean fuel is used in the fuel cell technology to produce electricity, it results in almost zero emissions, thus being environment friendly and also offering high efficiencies and a constant source of power. Although the fuel cell technology seems to be an impressive alternative to the traditional technologies, certain challenges hinder the commercialization of this technology which has also been discussed in this review. Thus a lot of R&D needs to go into this technology until it becomes a large scale reality.

The fuel cell yesterday, today and tomorrow

Hemijska industrija, 2005

The fuel cell has some characteristics of a battery carrying out direct chemical conversion into electric energy. In relation to classical systems used for chemical energy conversion into electric power, through heat energy and mechanical operation, the fuel cell has considerably higher efficiency. The thermo-mechanical conversion of chemical into electric energy, in thermal power plants is carried out with 30% efficiency, while the efficiency of chemical conversion into electric energy, using a fuel cell is up to 60%. With the exception of the space programme, the commercial usage of the fuel cell did not exist up to 1990, when the most developed countries started extensive financial support of this source of energy. By 1995, more than a hundred fuel cells were installed in the process of electricity generation in Europe, USA and Japan, while nowadays there are thousands of installations, of efficient energetic capacity. Because of its superior characteristics, the fuel cell compar...