Alternative sources of energy an introduction to fuel cells. Just like in other batteries the chemical process is divided up into the reducing part cathode. It will also look at what this investment in fuel cell technology will mean for the eu in the coming years. Fuel cells are generally classified according to the nature of the electrolyte except for direct methanol fuel cells which are named for their ability to use methanol as a fuel, each type requiring particular materials and fuel.
Further, the paper looks to introduce both the technical and economic issues facing the introduction of this technology. Through the work of thomas grubb and leonard niedrach, they invented and developed the first polymer electrolyte membrane pem fuel cell. A fuel cell is an electrochemical device a galvanic cell which converts free energy of a chemical reaction into electrical energy electricity. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells for electrical power. Fuel cells are seen by many people as a key solutions for. Finally, in order for pem fuel cell systems to be affordable for portable power applications, a source of high energy density fuel must be considered. Benefits of fuel cells and obstacles to their widespread introduction are briefly outlined. The company has had a succession of fuel cell test and demonstration vehicles, including the worlds first publicly drivable fcev in 1998. Fuel cells do not need to be periodically recharged like batteries, but instead continue to produce electricity as long as a fuel source is provided. Fuel cell fundamentals provides a thorough introduction to the principles and practicalities behind fuel cell technology. An introduction to fuel cells and hydrogen technology ogniwa.
Robert steinberger wilckens institute of energy research ief pbz forschungszentrum julich. Automotive manufacturers are interested in fuel cell technology because it is a nextgeneration technology that could have fuel reproduced from local sources and low or zero emissions. Thus, the different types of fuel cells and the working of an alkaline fuel cell are briefly discussed in this article along with some of the applications of these electrochemical cells. Jul 26, 2010 what is a fuel cell a fuel cell is a device that converts energy from one form into another it converts the chemical energy in a fuel into electrical energy and heat. Incorporated into the design is a dcac converter that boosts the voltage. Doetarget technology for the pem fuel cell and hydrogen storage, we found that the fuel cell system would provide a performance benefit to the airplane i. Department of energys fuel cell technology program states that, as of 2011, fuel cells achieved 5359% efficiency at onequarter power and 4253% vehicle efficiency at full power, and a durability of over 120,000 km 75,000 mi with less than 10% degradation. An introduction to fuel cells and hydrogen technology by brian cook, heliocentris vancouver, canada whereas the 19th century was the century of the steam engine and the 20th century was the century of the internal combustion engine, it is likely that the 21st century will be the century of the fuel cell. Finally, in order for pem fuel cell systems to be affordable for portable power applications. Unfamiliar technology to the power industry almost no infrastructure still at level of development 5. Fuel cell consist of anode a layer of anodic catalyst. Fuel cell seminar report with ppt and pdf study mafia. Sunita satyapal introduction fy 2019 annual progress report 2 doe hydrogen and fuel cells program. Download citation an introduction to fuel cells and hydrogen technology whereas the 19th century was the century of the steam engine and the 20th century was the century of the internal.
Fuel cells can both complement and compete with batteries for portable power systems. Fc fuel cell fccj fuel cell commercialization conference of japan fcev fuel cell electric vehicles or fcv fcv fuel cell vehicles or fcev fdma fire and disaster management agency fit feedin tariff fra the japan fisheries research and education agency frea fukushima renewable energy institute fy fiscal year april to march. What is a fuel cell a fuel cell is a device that converts energy from one form into another it converts the chemical energy in a fuel into electrical energy and heat. Merewether abstract fuel cells are important future sources of electrical power and could contribute to a reduction in the amount of petro leum imported by the united states. Prior to the pem fuel cell book chapters, brief technical information of pem fuel cell has been given in this chapter. They are electrochemi cal devices similar to a battery and consist of a container, an. Groves technology remained without a practical application for over 100 years. Fuel cell technology an overview sciencedirect topics. First fuel cellfirst fuel cell 3 in 1839, william grove, a british jurist and amateur physicist, first discovered the principle of the fuel cell. Thus as an introduction to fuel cells we need to study cell cells for two important reasons. This is very different to the type of engine in a car. In chapter 12, different fuel cell systems are described, mainly focusing on their operation principles and characteristics, technologies, and fuel supplies. The science of the pem fuel cell and the direct methanol fuel cell are discussed.
Their applications are wideranging with use found in local stations and power plants, in industry for the highly efficient conversion of waste and biomass materials and in carbon dioxide reduction in all fossilfuelburning processes. To learn more about this technology and other related topics, register with byjus and download the mobile application on your smartphone. Hydrogen fuel cell engines and related technologies. Kah, different molten alkali carbonate eutectics as fuel cell. An introduction to fuel cell technology and economics n brandon and d hart centre for energy policy and technology iccept imperial college of science, technology and medicine 48 princes gardens, london sw7 2pe july 1999 n. In addition, it is necessary to explain the working principle by defining what the pem fuel cell means.
Fuel cell technology is based upon the simple combustion reaction given in eq. Buses are a logical starting point for the introduction of fuel cell. A fuel cell is composed of an anode, cathode, and an electrolyte membrane. Working fuel cell systems have already been developed by many companies in the automobile, electronics. Fuel cell electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, and. The comprehensive, accessible introduction to fuel cells, their applications, and the challenges they pose fuel cellselectrochemical energy devices that produce electricity and heatpresent a significant opportunity for cleaner, easier, and more practical energy. This page contains fuel cell seminar and ppt with pdf report. Department of energy office of fossil energy national energy technology laboratory p. Important in the development of fuel cell technology are mathematical models of engineering aspects of a fuel cell system. Sumit thakur ece seminars fuel cell seminar and ppt with pdf report. Horizon fuel cell technologies, which was founded in 2003 and registered in singapore, is a developer of small pemfc systems based in shanghai, china.
Fuel cell applications in transportation, distributed power generation, residential and portable power are discussed. Fuel cell efficiency since fuel cells use materials that are typically burnt to release their energy,gy, y the fuel cell efficiency is described as the ratio of the electrical energy produced to the heat that is produced by burning the fuel its enthalpy of formation or. Technologies and applications the open fuel cells journal, 20, volume 6 11 the drawback of the technology is that dmfc actually detain an efficiency around 35 % which is the lowest among. Fuel cells are generally utilized for secondary power generation, since in cases where they are not using fossil fuels a possibility only for high temperature fuel cells pure hydrogen has to be generated by using primary energy sources. Fc fuel cell fccj fuel cell commercialization conference of japan fcev fuelcell electric vehicles or fcv fcv fuelcell vehicles or fcev fdma fire and disaster management agency fit feedin tariff fra the japan fisheries research and education agency frea fukushima renewable energy institute fy fiscal year april to march. Department of energy fuel cell technologies office learning demonstration project began in 2005.
General motors has the longest fuel cell history of any automaker, with the electrovan demonstrating the potential for fuel cell technology nearly 50 years ago. Vehicles were retired due to performance loss, end of fuel cell life, end of vehicle test, or other catastrophic failure unrelated to the fuel cell system. The inventor of fuel cell technology was sir william grove, who demonstrated a hydrogen fuel cell in london in the 1830s. Introduction this report presents an overview of an evaluation of onroad fuel cell electric vehicles fcevs by the national renewable energy laboratory nrel that has been ongoing since the u. Fuel cell definition, working, types, and applications of.
Fy 2017 aual progress report 2 doe hydrogen d fuel cells program sunita satyapal i. Internal revenue service irs 20 yearly average exchange rates were used to convert foreign currencies to u. Their applications are wideranging with use found in local stations and power plants, in industry for the highly efficient conversion of waste and biomass materials and in carbon dioxide reduction in all fossil fuel burning processes. First they are an emerging technology that needs to be. The figure includes both in service vehicles and those that have been retired during the evaluation. Each fuel cell type also has its own operational characteristics, offering advantages to particular applications. Fuel cell electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, and their impact on energy storage technologies. An introduction to fuel cell technology and economics. Unlike a battery, which is closed, a fuel cell is open on at least one side, the air. The basic arrangement in a fuel cell can be represented as follows.
Creates electricity through electrochemical process. A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel directly into electrical energy. This analysis also showed that the doetarget technology fuel cell system. This paper seeks to act as a first introduction to fuel cell technology, and to discuss in an objective manner the pros and cons of different fuel cell types, and their suitability for differing applications. Table 51 evolution of cell component technology for phosphoric acid fuel cells 54.
Fuel cell electric vehicle durability and fuel cell performance. Fuel cell vehicles usually use compressed hydrogen as the fuel type, although several manufacturers have also demonstrated a fuel cell vehicle with methanol. Fuel cell systems are a clean, efficient, reliable, and quiet source of power. Technologies and applications the open fuel cells journal, 20, volume 6 the ove rall cell efficiency is between 37% and 42% however, if the heated watersteam generat ed by the.
Vehicles were retired due to performance loss, end of fuel cell life, end of vehicle test, or other catastrophic failure unrelated to. Request pdf introduction to fuel cell technology fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy. The onestep from chemical to electrical energy nature of this process, in comparison to the multistep e. Beginning with the underlying concepts, the discussion explores fuel cell thermodynamics, kinetics, transport, and modeling before moving into the application side with guidance on system types and design, performance, costs. In chapter, the systematic design of fuel cell hybrid drive trains is introduced. The importance of fuel cells for energy saving purposes is emphasised. However, the excitement over fuel cells within the research community has led to such rapid innovation and development that it. The hydrogen activated to form the proton ion with the catalyst is injected in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell pemfc. It will also look at what this investment in fuel cell technology will. Ogden pointed out major obstacles that must be overcome before automotive fuel cell technology can be considered viable. Grove utilized four cells, each containing hydrogen and oxygen, to produce electric power which was then used to split the water in the smaller upper cell into hydrogen and oxygen. Fuel cell system 2 cell stack pem 2 5 volts nominal 1. Fuel cells are electrical batteries that are characterised by the active materials on the electrodes being replenished continuously.
A brief introduction to fuel cells overview a fuel cell is an. The company has had a succession of fuel cell test and demonstration vehicles, including the worlds first publicly drivable fcev in. Real practical fuel cell efficiency the real efficiency of a fuel cell is always less than the reversible thermodynamic efficiency. Fuel cells an introduction by jens oluf jensen, dtu and erik henneso, danish power systems dps version 2, 2017 what is a fuel cell. Introduction of nedos activities for hydrogen and fuel cell. Vehicular applications of fuel cells are also explained. Box 880 morgantown, west virginia 265070880 november 2004. An introduction to fuel cells and hydrogen technology.
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