FUEL CELL FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions About Fuel Cells

What is a fuel cell?
A fuel cell is an electrochemical engine that converts the chemical energy of a fuel directly to electricity. Almost always the fuel is hydrogen or a hydrogen rich gas mixture. The fuel cell reaction is:

How does a fuel cell compare with other energy production technologies?
A fuel cell is similar to a battery in that both devices convert chemical energy directly to electricity. However, a fuel cell never needs to be recharged, as does a battery. As long as fuel and air are supplied, the fuel cell produces uninterrupted electrical power.

Our usual way of generating electric power is through the steam cycle. A fuel is burned to produce heat, the heat is used to produce steam, the steam turns a turbine, and the turbine's power is used to turn a generator to produce electricity. A fuel cell circumvents this complex and inherently inefficient process by directly converting the fuel's chemical energy to electricity in a single step.

What are the advantages of using a fuel cell?
A fuel cell is quiet, clean, modular, and durable. No pollution whatsoever is produced during operation. The only byproducts are heat (which cogeneration systems utilize for water and space heating) and water. The product water is pure enough that it is used as drinking water on board the space shuttle. These characteristics make a fuel cell a good neighbor that can be used for power even in densely populated urban areas where emissions requirements are stringent.

A fuel cell operates at an efficiency of 40-50%, significantly higher than conventional power generators. A steam power plant is typically 35% efficient, while the efficiency of an internal combustion engine in most vehicles is only about 15%.

For what applications are fuel cells useful today?
Fuel cells can be used for:

Remote power may prove to be the first commercially viable market for fuel cells, especially in applications where the noise, emissions, or fuel requirements associated with conventional generators are a concern. Although fuel cell power for cars gets a lot of attention these days, it may be a more difficult market for fuel cells to reach, due to the relatively low per-horsepower cost of conventional internal combustion engines and the robustness and high power density required of a vehicular power system.

If fuel cells are so great, why aren't we using them?
Fuel cells are actually being used more widely than many people think. In addition to a few high-profile applications such as the space shuttles, the organization Fuel Cells 2000 lists over 600 past and present fuel cell installations worldwide on their website. However, fuel cells are still meeting only a tiny fraction of our energy generation needs.

There are two main reasons fuel cells have not yet caught on more broadly. One, development work still needs to be done. Two, the price is currently too high. There is nothing inherently expensive about a fuel cell but as with most technologies, prices will not be competitive until many units are sold. By demonstrating the practicality and environmental benefits of fuel cell power, the Schatz Energy Research Center's projects are an important step in advancing the worldwide effort to make fuel cells widely available.