May 29, 2000
Fuel Cells: 21st Century Energy
Tidbit Archive
| Fuel cells, which have been used in spacecraft as far back as the
1960s, are coming down to earth.
Fuel cells are devices that generate electrical power from a chemical reaction without moving parts and virtually without pollution. Initially conceived more than 150 years ago, they are similar to batteries, except that unlike batteries, their fuel can be replenished indefinitely. Hydrogen fuel cells, currently the most common variety, combine hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of a catalyst to form water, releasing energy in the process. A promising alternative system employs zinc instead of hydrogen, creating zinc oxide which can either be replaced with fresh zinc (generally in the form of pellets) or recycled back into zinc and reused. The use of hydrogen, the supply of which is essentially inexhaustible, and the fact that these cells produce water as a byproduct instead of carbon dioxide and other pollutants make them very attractive as a future energy source. Currently, the main barriers to their commercialization are the cost of the cells themselves, durability, reliability, and (for transportation use) weight. Among the applications currently under development are small power sources for use as an alternative to internal combustion engines in motor vehicles, off-the-grid power generation for homes, and larger-scale power generation. A recent article in the business section of The New York Times cited forecasts of a billion dollar market within a few years and focused on the challenges faced by several firms that are seeking to gain a share of that market. |
Links:"The Fuel Cell, an Energy Alternative," by Barnaby J. Feder in The New York Times, May 27, 2000 (may require free registration).
"Beyond Batteries," by Tim Beardsley in Scientific American, December 1996.
"What is a Fuel Cell?" a fact sheet from the Fuel Cell Commercialization Group (1999).
"Fuel Cells: Energy Source for the Next Millennium," from Toshiba Company Magazine.
Online Fuel Cell Information Center from Fuel Cells 2000, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization devoted to promoting commercialization of fuel cell technology.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Innovation for the 21st Century, from About.com.
"Fuel Cells: Necessary Components for Space Colonization," from Omega 23 -- a selection of technical books on the subject with links to purchase them from Amazon.com.
"Fuel Cells: Green Power," a 36 page PDF document on the use of fuel cells in motor vehicles from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Get your own fuel cell! A one volt hydrogen fuel cell kit for hobbyists is available for £49 (about $75 US) plus postage from Bull Electrical in Sussex, England.
Disposable zinc-air fuel cells for use as long-lasting emergency auxiliary power for cell phones. From Electric Fuel Ltd., an Israeli firm with offices and laboratories in the U.S. $19.95 each, quantity discounts.
Ballard Power Systems Inc. is developing, manufacturing and marketing zero-emission proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells for use in transportation, electricity generation, portable power and other products. One of Ballard's products is pictured at the top of this page.
International Fuel Cells, a subsidiary of United Technologies, manufacturer of fuel cells for the Space Shuttle, is currently developing commercial applications, including supplementary electric power for homes.
Plug Power, an upstate New York firm that is partnering with General Electric, plans to offer residential fuel cell power plants in the near future.
Reveo, a New York-based firm whose subsidiary, Evonyx, is developing zinc-air fuel cell batteries (both refillable and rechargeable) for various applications.
Metallic Power, Inc. of Carlsbad, California, developer of zinc-air fuel cells for both stationary and mobile use.
Press release from Daimler-Chrysler (March 1999) on their plans to have fuel cell powered cars in production by 2004.
