It is important to understand how Fuel Cells are made and what an important role they will play.

The Fuel Cell has a crucial role to play in accelerating the transition to a Hydrogen Society thanks to its wide application from automobiles to homes and industry. Rapidly improving Fuel Cell technology is making a Hydrogen Society a reality. It is important to understand how Fuel Cells are made and what an important role they will play.

Fuel Cell: Leading the growth of a Hydrogen Society

Key characteristics and significance of Fuel Cells

Hydrogen is regarded as a clean next-generation energy source. Many countries are planning to completely phase out fossil fuels such as oil and gas and to make the transition to hydrogen. Obstacles to commercialization, such as the lack of a hydrogen infrastructure, Fuel Cell technology, economic feasibility and safety initially delayed the transition but things are now moving quickly. The rapid advancement of Fuel Cell technology has led to the production of FCEVs and the deployment of home Fuel Cell systems.

Fuel Cells convert the chemical energy in hydrogen to electricity and heat through an electric chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen. Fuel Cells can continuously generate electricity as long as hydrogen and oxygen are supplied, and are also highly efficient even on a small scale.

The mechanism of a Fuel Cell was first discovered by William Grove through an experiment conducted in 1839. In 1959, a British engineer named Francis Thomas Bacon succeeded to build a 5kW Fuel Cell and demonstrated its application in an automobile, garnering much attention worldwide.

NASA became very interested in Bacon’s Fuel Cell and employed it in its space project. For example, a Fuel Cell was used for power generation in the Apollo 11 which took Neil Armstrong to the moon. Interest in using Fuel Cells in non-military, non-space applications began to increase in the 1990s. Faced with an energy crisis and environmental problems, hydrogen began to earn its reputation as an 'Ideal Replacement' to fossil fuels.

Different Fuel Cells are used for homes, transport and electricity generation. Several Japanese companies including Toshiba, Panasonic, and ENEOS Celtec collaborated together to manufacture and deploy home Fuel Cells under the brand 'ENE-FARM' in Japan. As a result, Japan is leading on the home Fuel Cell market with 250,000 units deployed as of 2018. Large corporations have been leading on the development of larger Fuel Cell systems for electricity generation. Fuel Cells for transport applications are the greatest. FCEVs are already sold commercially while investment is being made for infrastructure expansion and Fuel Cell application in ships and airplanes.

How Fuel Cells make electricity

Fuel Cell-based energy production

Fuel Cells consist of two electrodes and an electrolyte membrane which allows for the transfer of hydrogen ions. When hydrogen and oxygen are supplied through each electrode, hydrogen is separated into a hydrogen ion and electron. The separated hydrogen ion is transferred to the electrolyte material and transferred to the oxygen-side electrode and turned into H2O, bonding with oxygen, and generating electricity in the process, converting chemical energy into electricity. The desired voltage can be achieved by combining multiple Fuel Cells in serial.

The only byproduct from the electricity generation process is water, which makes Fuel Cells a green electricity source. Unlike fossil fuel combustion which creates CO2 and air pollution, a Fuel Cell relies on a clean chemical reaction that emits only water. Unlike internal combustion cars, FCEVs use Fuel Cells to generate electricity which powers the electric motor.

First, hydrogen safely stored in a special tank is released and depressurized through the hydrogen supply system and then sent to the Fuel Cell stack. Air is sucked in from the front of the FCEV and is then passed through the high performance filter and supplied to the Fuel Cell stack in the form of pure oxygen. Oxygen is then combined with hydrogen through a chemical reaction, which in turn generates electricity passed to the battery and then to the motor that powers the FCEV. This mechanism is similar to how gasoline engine use heat released from the combustion of fuel as energy.

The power behind the growth of a hydrogen industry: Fuel Cell for transport

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Fuel Cells can be broadly classified into low temperature and high temperature types. The low temperature type Fuel Cells are used for transport applications such as automobiles and ships while the high temperature type is used for applications such as industrial plants. In transport applications, Fuel Cells can provide a zero emission solution while providing performance such as acceleration on a par with conventional vehicles. As a result, many automakers are working on FCEVs.

Vehicles powered using Fuel Cells are also much quieter than conventional vehicles since only a little noise is generated by the compressors and pumps. This is yet another important reason why some automakers are making considerable investments towards building a hydrogen infrastructure.