HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS

The Hydrogen Fuel Cell

The principle of hydrogen fuel cells was first demonstrated to the London Institution
by British scientist and judge Sir William Grove in 1839. He discovered a relatively
straightforward electro-chemical process where hydrogen and oxygen interact within
a cell to generate electricity and heat.

Copyright London Climate Change Agency Ltd 2006. All rights reserved.

How a Fuel Works

The fuel cell contains an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte sandwiched
between them, separating the two. Hydrogen is supplied into the anode and oxygen
into the cathode. The two gases want to join but are prevented from doing so by the
electrolyte which causes the hydrogen to split into a proton and an electron. The
proton passes freely through the electrolyte whilst the electron is forced to take a
different route around it, creating an electric current before re-combining with the
proton to make hydrogen again and combining with oxygen through a catalyst,
creating a molecule of water.
There are several different types of fuel cell that work on this principle, each using a
different material for the electrolyte (alkaline, phosphoric acid, molten carbonate,
solid oxide and solid polymer or proton exchange membrane). Each operates at
different temperature ranges and is suitable for different applications within
stationary or portable power, or transport.
Fuel Cell CHP
Since Groves experiments, the technology has been developed intermittently facing
opposition from the prevailing Hydrocarbon Economy, and it was not until the 1960s
HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS

space programme that fuel cells were used in a real practical environment. UTC
Power (who also make the alkaline fuel cells for the NASA Space Programme)
produced the first commercial stationary phosphoric acid fuel cells in 1991. See
www.utcfuelcells.com .
More recently other manufacturers have produced fuel cells for the emerging
cogeneration, trigeneration and quadgeneration, residential CHP and transport
markets. UTC are the largest manufacturer of fuel cells having installed over 260
fuel cell power plants in 19 countries on 5 continents. The UTC stationary fuel cell
fleet has delivered over 1.1 billion kWh of energy worldwide.
Fuel Cell Operation
As an example, the UTC fuel cell uses phosphoric acid as the electrolyte, natural
gas chemically reformed into hydrogen gas by steam reforming and oxygen
extracted directly from outside air. Fuel cells also operate on renewable gases such
as syngas from waste, biogas, waste gas from sewage treatment, or other biogases.
Renewable gases are rich in hydrogen and can be provided with dual fuel options
(renewable gas and natural gas) to ensure continuity of supply at full power and to
take advantage of renewable gases in the future.
Since fuel cells generate energy by an electro-chemical reaction there is no
combustion and no noxious emissions. Therefore, no flue is required, the only
emissions being water.

CLEAN
EXHAUST

STEAM

FUEL
NATURAL
GAS

PROCESSOR

HYDROGEN
RICH
GAS

DC

FUEL CELL

POWER

STACK

POWER

AC

CONDITIONER

POWER

AIR
CA0117C

USABLE
HEAT

FC42167-PPT
R002203

UTC Power Pure Cell 400 Fuel Cell CHP Operation

The UTC Power Pure Cell 400 Fuel Cell CHP is a packaged system combining the
fuel processor (or reformer), fuel cell stack and power conditioner. The fuel cell stack
comprises 32 sub-stacks of 8 fuel cells so the fuel cell CHP actually comprises 256
fuel cells. Heat is recovered at each sub-stack and aggregated to provide the fuel
cell package heat output.

HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS

Quadgeneration Systems
The clean exhaust of a fuel cell is pure water which can be captured, condensed
and utilised as potable or non potable water. The water from a fuel cell is H2O or
100% pure water and astronauts actually drink the water from on board fuel cells in
space. Similarly, you can drink the water from the tailpipe of a fuel cell vehicle.
Fuel Cell Transport
Fuel cell vehicles are essentially electric vehicles but without the need to charge
from the coal fired electric grid. Fuel cells get their fuel from hydrogen or a hydrogen
energy carrier such as syngas or methanol so in this respect they require a similar
infrastructure as gasoline transport. However, as fuel cells do not follow the Carnot
cycle of efficiency, fuel cell transport is three times more efficient than gasoline
transport.
Hydrogen can be reformed from natural gas in which case the fuel cell transport
becomes low carbon similar to trigeneration. Hydrogen can also be electrolysed
from renewable electricity or more likely reformed from renewable gases such as
waste gases in which case the fuel cell transport becomes zero carbon.

Fuel Cell Car in London

More recent developments in fuel cell transport has been hybrid fuel cells where the
fuel cell works in conjunction with an electric battery similar to the Toyota Prius but
without the engine. The battery is charged by the fuel cell and never needs charging
from the electric grid.
This innovation reduces the size of the fuel cell and the hydrogen refuelling required.
For example, the London fuel cell buses used a 250kWe fuel cell whereas the
Oakland, California hybrid fuel cell buses used 120kWe fuel cells reducing the size,
cost and refuelling by more than 50%..

HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS

London Fuel Cell Bus

Hydrogen Filling Station

Allan Jones MBE

Chief Development Officer, Energy and Climate Change
13 August 2010

HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS