Conventional Fuel Cells

Fuel Cell Basics:

A fuel cell uses the chemical energy of hydrogen to cleanly and efficiently produce
electricity, with water and heat as by products. Fuel cells are unique in terms of the
variety of their potential applications; they can provide energy for systems as large as a
utility power station and as small as a laptop computer.

Fuel cells have several benefits over conventional combustion-based technologies
currently used in many power plants and passenger vehicles. They produce much
smaller quantities of greenhouse gases and none of the air pollutants that create smog
and cause health problems. If pure hydrogen is used as a fuel, fuel cells emit only heat
and water as a byproduct.

How Does a Fuel Cell Work?

A fuel cell is a device that uses hydrogen (or hydrogen-rich fuel) and oxygen to create
electricity by an electrochemical process. A single fuel cell consists of an electrolyte
and two catalyst-coated electrodes (a porous anode and cathode). While there are
different fuel cell types, all work on the same principle:

• Hydrogen, or a hydrogen-rich fuel, is fed to the anode where a catalyst separates
  hydrogen's negatively charged electrons from positively charged ions (protons)
  
• At the cathode, oxygen combines with electrons and, in some cases, with
  species such as protons or water, resulting in water or hydroxide ions,
  respectively
  
• For polymer electrolyte membrane and phosphoric acid fuel cells, protons move
  through the electrolyte to the cathode to combine with oxygen and electrons,
  producing water and heat
  
• For alkaline, molten carbonate, and solid oxide fuel cells, negative ions travel
  through the electrolyte to the anode where they combine with hydrogen to
  generate water and electrons
  

The electrons from the anode side of the cell cannot pass through the electrolyte to
the positively charged cathode; they must travel around it via an electrical circuit to
reach the other side of the cell. This movement of electrons represents the electrical
energy created by the fuel cell.


Links For More Information About Fuel Cells:

Online Fuel Cell Information Resource

Build Your Own Fuel Cells      

Cal State University Northridge Fuel Cell Plant

General Motors Fuel Cell Cars        

How Fuel Cells work       

Fuel Cells at Wikipedia

Fuel Cell vehicles