Fuel Cells have been around for two centuries and have been in practical use for four decades. With the advance of technology and growing interest in developing alternate sources of energy, the fuel cell is about to come into its own.
Fuel Cells have been around for almost two hundred years and have been in practical use for decades. But there have always been used in niche applications, such as in the US space program. But with interest rising in alternative energy sources which avoid pollution and dependence on foreign sources of fuel, this may be about to change.
What is a Fuel Cell?
A fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen as fuel, combining the two to create water, heat, and electricity. A fuel cell is for all intents and purposes a battery that does not need recharging. As long as hydrogen and oxygen fuel are available, it can continue to supply heat and an electrical current indefinitely. A fuel cell contains an electrolyte (a conductor of charged particles) between an anode (negatively charged electrode) and a cathode (a positively charged electrode). Once triggered by a catalyst, the hydrogen atoms separates into protons and electrons, and the electrons are conducted through a wire, forming an electrical current. The protons move through the electrolyte, where they combine with oxygen and other electrons to produce heat and a water byproduct.
A catalyst is defined as a substance that modifies and increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the processes. Fuel cells which run at low temperatures require efficient catalysts. The majority of catalysts used in fuel cells are made primarily of platinum.
The History of Fuel Cells
The fuel cell was first developed in 1838 by William Robert Grove, a British scientist. Grove discovered that by arranging two platinum electrodes with one end of each immersed in a container of sulfuric acid and the other ends separately sealed in containers of oxygen and hydrogen, a constant current would flow between the electrodes. The sealed containers held water as well as the gases, and he noted that the water level rose in both tubes as the current flowed. By combining several sets of these electrodes in a series circuit, he created what he called a "gas battery"- the first fuel cell.
Fuel cells remained a laboratory curiosity, though, for over a century, until Francis Thomas Bacon began researching fuel cells in the late 1930. During the Second World War, Bacon developed fuel cells for use in British submarines. By the late 1950s a practical fuel cell that caught the attention of Pratt and Whitney. Pratt and Whitney bough the license for the technology and used it for powering American space craft, including Gemini, Apollo, and the space shuttle.
By the 1980s, fuel cells caught the attention of private companies as a possible new energy source. Every major automobile company has fuel cell powered cars in development. Other companies, such as Fuel Cell Inc., are developing fuel cells powerful enough to power office buildings or strip centers.