What |s a Iue| Ce||?

A luel Cell ls an elecLrochemlcal devlce LhaL comblnes hydrogen and oxygen Lo produce
elecLrlclLy wlLh waLer and heaL as lLs byproducL
Why |s Iue| Ce|| 1echno|ogy Important?
Slnce converslon of Lhe fuel Lo energy Lakes place vla an elecLrochemlcal process noL
combusLlon
lL ls a clean quleL and hlghly efflclenL process Lwo Lo Lhree Llmes more efflclenL Lhan fuel
burnlng
ow does a Iue| Ce|| work?
lL operaLes slmllarly Lo a baLLery buL lL does noL run down nor does lL requlre recharglng
As long as fuel ls supplled a luel Cell wlll produce boLh energy and heaL
A luel Cell conslsLs of Lwo caLalysL coaLed elecLrodes surroundlng an elecLrolyLe
Cne elecLrode ls an anode and Lhe oLher ls a caLhode
1he process beglns when Pydrogen molecules enLer Lhe anode
1he caLalysL coaLlng separaLes hydrogen's negaLlvely charged elecLrons from Lhe poslLlvely
charged proLons
1he elecLrolyLe allows Lhe proLons Lo pass Lhrough Lo Lhe caLhode buL noL Lhe elecLrons
lnsLead Lhe elecLrons are dlrecLed Lhrough an exLernal clrculL whlch creaLes elecLrlcal
currenL
Whlle Lhe elecLrons pass Lhrough Lhe exLernal clrculL oxygen molecules pass Lhrough Lhe
caLhode
1here Lhe oxygen and Lhe proLons comblne wlLh Lhe elecLrons afLer Lhey have passed
Lhrough Lhe exLernal clrculL


What |s a Iue| Ce||?

lndlvldual fuel cells can Lhen be placed ln a serles Lo form a fuel cell sLack
1he sLack can be used ln a sysLem Lo power a vehlcle or Lo provlde sLaLlonary power Lo a
bulldlng
,a[or 1ypes of Iue| Ce||s
ln general all fuel cells have Lhe same baslc conflguraLlon an elecLrolyLe and Lwo elecLrodes
ulfferenL Lypes of fuel cells are classlfled by Lhe klnd of elecLrolyLe used
1he Lype of elecLrolyLe used deLermlnes Lhe klnd of chemlcal reacLlons LhaL Lake place and
Lhe LemperaLure range of operaLlon


What |s a Iue| Ce||?
roLon Lxchange Membrane (LM)
1hls ls Lhe leadlng cell Lype for passenger car appllcaLlon
uses a polymer membrane as Lhe elecLrolyLe
CperaLes aL a relaLlvely low LemperaLure abouL 173 degrees
Pas a hlgh power denslLy can vary lLs ouLpuL qulckly and ls sulLed for appllcaLlons where
qulck sLarLup ls requlred maklng lL popular for auLomoblles
SenslLlve Lo fuel lmpurlLles



What |s a Iue| Ce||?
ulrecL MeLhanol (a subseL of LM)
LxpecLed efflclencles of 40 plus low operaLlng LemperaLures beLween 120190 degrees
Also uses a polymer membrane as Lhe elecLrolyLe
ulfferenL from LM because Lhe anode caLalysL ls able Lo draw hydrogen from meLhanol
wlLhouL a reformer
used more for small porLable power appllcaLlons posslbly cell phones and lapLops
hosphorlc Acld
1hls ls Lhe mosL commerclally developed fuel cell
lL generaLes elecLrlclLy aL more Lhan 40 efflclency
nearly 83 of Lhe sLeam produced can be used for cogeneraLlon
uses llquld phosphorlc acld as Lhe elecLrolyLe and operaLes aL abouL 430 degrees l
Cne maln advanLage ls LhaL lL can use lmpure hydrogen as fuel



What |s a Iue| Ce||?
MolLen CarbonaLe
romlses hlgh fuelLoelecLrlclLy efflclency and Lhe ablllLy Lo uLlllze coal based fuels
uses an elecLrolyLe composed of a molLen carbonaLe salL mlxLure
8equlre carbon dloxlde and oxygen Lo be dellvered Lo Lhe caLhode
CperaLes aL exLremely hlgh LemperaLures 1200 degrees
rlmarlly LargeLed for use as elecLrlc uLlllLy appllcaLlons
Pave been operaLed on hydrogen carbon monoxlde naLural gas propane landflll
gas marlne dlesel and slmulaLed coal gaslflcaLlon producLs
MolLen CarbonaLe luel Cell
8ecause of Lhe exLreme hlgh LemperaLures nonpreclous meLals can be used as
caLalysLs aL Lhe anode and caLhode whlch helps reduces cosL
ulsadvanLage ls durablllLy
1he hlgh LemperaLure requlred and Lhe corroslve elecLrolyLe acceleraLe breakdown
and corroslon lnslde Lhe fuel cell

What |s a Iue| Ce||?

What |s a Iue| Ce||?
Solld Cxlde
uses a hard nonporous ceramlc compound as Lhe elecLrolyLe
Can reach 60 powergeneraLlng efflclency
CperaLes aL exLremely hlgh LemperaLures 1800 degrees
used malnly for large hlgh powered appllcaLlons such as lndusLrlal generaLlng
sLaLlons malnly because lL requlres such hlgh LemperaLures


What |s a Iue| Ce||?
Alkallne
used malnly by mlllLary and space programs
Can reach 70 power generaLlng efflclency buL consldered Lo cosLly for
LransporLaLlon appllcaLlons
used on Lhe Apollo spacecrafL Lo provlde elecLrlclLy and drlnklng waLer
uses a soluLlon of poLasslum hydroxlde ln waLer as Lhe elecLrolyLe and operaLes aL
73 160 degrees
Can use a varleLy of nonpreclous meLals as caLalysL aL Lhe anode and caLhode
Alkallne luel Cell
8equlres pure hydrogen and oxygen because lL ls very suscepLlble Lo carbon
conLamlnaLlon
urlflcaLlon process of Lhe hydrogen and oxygen ls cosLly
SuscepLlblllLy Lo polsonlng affecLs cell's llfeLlme whlch also affecLs Lhe cosL


What |s a Iue| Ce||?


What |s a Iue| Ce||?
What |s a Iue| Ce||?
Importance of ydrogen
luel Cells requlre hlghly purlfled hydrogen as a fuel
8esearchers are developlng a wlde range of Lechnologles Lo produce hydrogen economlcally
from a varleLy of resources ln envlronmenLally frlendly ways
Pydrogen ls a secondary energy resource meanlng lL musL be made from anoLher fuel
Pydrogen can be produced from a wlde varleLy of energy resources lncludlng
lossll fuels such as naLural gas and coal
nuclear energy
8enewable resources such as solarwaLer wlnd and blomass

ydrogen roduct|on
1he blggesL challenge regardlng hydrogen producLlon ls Lhe cosL
8educlng Lhe cosL of hydrogen producLlon so as Lo compeLe ln Lhe LransporLaLlon secLor wlLh
convenLlonal fuels on a permlle basls ls a slgnlflcanL hurdle Lo luel Cell's success ln Lhe
commerclal markeLplace
1here are Lhree general caLegorles of Pydrogen producLlon
1hermal rocesses
LlecLrolyLe rocesses
hoLolyLlc rocesses
1hermal rocesses
naLural Cas 8eformlng
CaslflcaLlon
8enewable Llquld 8eformlng
What |s a Iue| Ce||?
naLural Cas 8eformlng
SLeam MeLhane 8eformlng
Pydrogen ls produced from meLhane ln naLural gas uslng hlghLemperaLure
sLeam
MeLhane reacLs wlLh Lhe sLeam ln presence of a caLalysL Lo produce
hydrogen
1hls process accounLs for abouL 93 of Lhe hydrogen used Loday ln Lhe uS
arLlal oxldaLlon
roduces hydrogen by burnlng meLhane ln alr

What |s a Iue| Ce||?
CaslflcaLlon
rocess ln whlch coal or blomass ls converLed lnLo gaseous componenLs by
applylng heaL under pressure and ln Lhe presence of sLeam
A subsequenL serles of chemlcal reacLlons produces a synLhesls gas whlch
reacLs wlLh sLeam Lo produce more hydrogen LhaL can be separaLed
8enewable Llquld 8eformlng
8lomass ls processed Lo make renewable llquld fuels such as eLhanol or blo
oll LhaL are Lhen reacLed wlLh hlghLemperaLure sLeam Lo produce hydrogen
1hls process ls very slmllar Lo reformlng naLural gas
LlecLrolyLlc rocesses
LlecLrolyLlc processes use an elecLrlc currenL Lo spllL waLer lnLo hydrogen
and oxygen
1he elecLrlclLy requlred can be generaLed by uslng renewable energy
Lechnologles such as wlnd solar geoLhermal and hydroelecLrlc power
hoLolyLlc rocesses
uses llghL energy Lo spllL waLer lnLo hydrogen and oxygen
1hese processes are ln Lhe very early sLages of research buL offer Lhe
posslblllLy of hydrogen producLlon whlch ls cosL effecLlve and has a low
envlronmenLal lmpacL
AuLo manufacLurers have worked on developlng Lechnology LhaL would
allow fuel cell cars Lo conLlnue uslng gasollne
A reformer" on Lhe fuel cell car would converL Lhe gasollne Lo hydrogen
onboard Lhe auLomoblle
lundlng for Lhls Lechnology has been pulled due Lo unsaLlsfacLory efflclency


What |s a Iue| Ce||?

Conc|us|on
romlslng Lechnology
MosL vlable for nlche markeL use ln Lhe near fuLure
Wldespread markeLplace accepLance and use ls sLlll many years away