FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY

Submitted to

PROF. / AHMED KADRY

Presented by

Eng. / KAREEM ADEL

DECEMBER 23, 2020

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page
1.Introduction 2
2. The base structure of Fuel cells 2
2.1 The Advantages of Fuel Cells 3
2.2. Disadvantages of Fuel Cells 4
3. Different FC Technologies 4
3.1. POLYMERIC ELECTROLYTE MEMBRANE FUEL CELLS (PEMFCS) 4
3.2. DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELLS (DMFCS) 6
3.3. ALKALINE FUEL CELLS (AFCS) 7
3.4. PHOSPHORIC ACID FUEL CELL (PAFC) 8
3.5. MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELLS (MCFC) 9
3.6. SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS (SOFC) 10
4. Fuel Cells in Microgrid Systems 13
4.1. Application of Fuel Cells in Microgrid Systems 13
4.1.1. Grid-Connected 13
4.1.2 Grid-Parallel 14
4.1.3. Stand-Alone Power 14
4.1.4. Emergency or Backup Power 16
4.1.5. DC Microgrid Application 17
4.2. Comparison of Fuel Cell Microgrid Applications 17
5. Other Fuel Cell Technologies 18
5.1. Regenerative Fuel Cell Technology 18
5.2. Biofuel cell technology 19
5.3. Hybrid Systems and Control Mechanisms 19
6. Impact of Employing FCs in Microgrids 20
7. Fuel Cells: Status and Future Outlook 21
8. Conclusions 22
9. References: 23

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1.Introduction
Fuel cells are seen by many people as a solution for the 21st century, enabling clean
efficient production of power and heat from a range of primary energy sources. Fuel cells
are electrochemical devices that use hydrogen (H2) with oxygen from air, to produce
electricity and heat. However, there are many variants of this basic process, depending on
the Fuel Cell type and the fuel used. The idea of FCs was discovered in 1839 by a scientist
called William R. Grove. This technical breakthrough was achieved while reversing water
electrolysis to produce direct current (DC) output from hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2).
The electrochemical process involved in FCs is essentially a reversed electrolysis reaction.
A fuel cell was initially called a gaseous voltaic battery (GVB) before it was eventually
named “fuel cell”.
Engaging fuel cell technology is done by integrating them with the renewable energy
resources, in which they operate as a storage device for harnessing relatively high
renewable energy or use them as the source of energy in microgrid systems.

2.The Base Structure of Fuel Cells

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device which converts the chemical energy of a fuel and
an oxidant directly into electrical energy. The basic physical structure of a single cell
consists of an electrolyte layer in contact with a porous anode and cathode on either side.
In a typical fuel cell, gaseous fuels are fed continuously to the anode (negative electrode)
and an oxidant (i.e., oxygen from air) is fed continuously to the cathode (positive electrode)
compartment; the electrochemical reactions take place at the electrodes to produce an
electric current (Fig. 1).

Fig. (1). Fuel Cells Concept.

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In the case of a fuel cell with an acid electrolyte the electrochemical reactions are:
anodic reaction: H2 → 2H+ + 2e
cathodic reaction: 1/2O2 + 2H+ + 2e- → H2O
overall reaction: H2 + 1/2O2 → H2O + heat (exothermic reaction,𝛥H=-286 kJ mol-1)

The battery is an energy storage device and the available energy is determined by the
chemical reactant stored within the battery itself. The battery will cease to produce
electrical energy when the chemical reactants are consumed. The fuel cell, on the other
hand, is an energy conversion device that has the capability of producing electrical energy
for as long as the fuel and oxidant are supplied to the electrodes. Degradation, primarily
corrosion, or malfunction of components are the limits to the practical operating life of fuel
cells.

2.1. The Advantages of Fuel Cells

2.1.1. Higher Efficiency
The higher efficiency of fuel cells is a consequence of the direct (chemical) production of
electric energy from the fuel used. And is not affected by the limitations in Carnot thermic
cycle which burdens all the combustion based electric generation systems

2.1.2. Low Chemical, Acoustic, and Thermal Emissions

Fuel cells emit less carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides for kilowatt of power generated.
since fuel cells have no moving parts, noise and vibration are negligible.

2.1.3. Modularity and Siting Flexibility

A single fuel cell will produce less than one volt of electrical potential. To produce higher
voltages, fuel cells are stacked on top of each other and connected in series. Cell stacks
consist of repeating fuel cell units, each comprised of an anode, cathode, electrolyte and a
bipolar separator plate. The number of cells in a stack depends on the desired power output
and individual cell performance. The stacks have sizes which ranges from a few hundreds
of W to several hundred of kW (up to some MW).

2.1.4. Low Maintenance

It is easy to localize and substitute a damaged or malfunctioning cell contained inside a
stack. This characteristic obviously leads to lower maintenance costs.

2.1.5. Fuel Flexibility

Hydrogen is the most used fuel (especially for the low temperature technologies of fuel
cells which requires pure gasses to operate). In many technologies using natural gas,
propane, landfill gas, anaerobic digester gas, military logistic fuels, and coal gas are used.
This flexibility depends for the most on the operative temperature range of the type of fuel
cells used, the higher the temperature the less pure the gas that the fuel cell can use.

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2.2. Disadvantages of Fuel Cells
Fuel cells technologies are still in a development phase and are burdened by many
problems

• Fuel cells costs for stationary electric generation (€/Wh) are still too high and
unsuitable for the substitution of the technologies based on fossil fuels.
• The life cycle and the degradation time of many technologies of fuel cells
(especially the high temperature technologies which are the best for electric power
generation) is still not totally known.
• Hydrogen, which is one the main fuel for fuel cell technologies, is expensive and it
does not still exist a network for his production and distribution.
• The use of low temperature fuel cells in the car market is limited by the fact that it
is difficult to confine a suitable quantity of hydrogen in small fuel containers and
by the fact that hydrogen is a flammable and potentially explosive gas (especially
if compressed in small containers).

3. Different Fuel Cell Technologies

There are many technologies of fuel cells available on the market, and each one of those is
characterized by: the operative temperature range, the type of fuels which can be used, the
type of catalyst used by the cell and the efficiency ratio of the energy conversion.

• Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC):

• Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC)
• Alkaline Fuel Cells (AFC)
• Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC)
• Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC)
• Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)

3.1. POLYMERIC ELECTROLYTE MEMBRANE FUEL CELLS (PEMFCS)

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs) are environmentally friendly and efficient energy
conversion devices that are expected to play a dominant role in future energy solutions.
They obtain the conversion of the chemical energy of a fuel into electricity by the hydrogen
oxidation reaction and oxygen reduction reaction over a proper catalyst; the only side
products of this process are water and heat. PEMFC operates at temperature between 70
°C and 100°C with a polymer electrolyte membrane, separating the fuel (hydrogen) from
the oxidant (air or oxygen), which is a material that allows hydrogen ions to move through
the membrane layer. The low operating temperature allows them to be started quickly (low
warm-up time) and results in less wear on system components thus increasing the cell
durability. This fuel cell is fed with hydrogen, which is oxidized at the anode, and oxygen

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that is reduced at the cathode. The protons released during the oxidation of hydrogen are
conducted through the proton exchange membrane to the cathode. Since the membrane is
not electronically conductive, the electrons released from the hydrogen travel along the
electrical external load, provided thus generating an electric
Current. This technology has drawn the most attention because of its simplicity, viability,
quick start-up (due to the low operative temperature), and it has been demonstrated like a
valid solution for the generation of static and mobile electrical power. The PEMFC has
been even proposed as a power source for zero emission vehicles. PEMFC systems are
particularly well suited for vehicle applications since they do not require the use of
hazardous fluids, and they enjoy high power densities and low operating temperatures.
However, cold start issues should be improved for a successful vehicle application of PEM
fuel cells.
The PEMFC, like all fuel cells, consists of three basic parts, the anode, the cathode, and
the membrane. The function of membrane is to act as an electrolyte (ionic conduction) and
a separator between oxygen and hydrogen. The membrane allows the passage of only
protons so the electron externally travels thus generating an electrical current. Meanwhile
protons travel through the ionic conductive membrane to the cathode. The H+ protons then
reach the cathode where they generate water through their combination with oxygen.

3.1.1. PEMFC Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of the PEMFC are as follows:

• The power density of the cell stack is very high, particularly in pressurized systems.
• The operative pressure difference between the anode and the cathode can be very
large due to the mechanical properties of the solid polymer electrolyte. Therefore,
operating with a pressurized system it is quite easy.
• A wide variety of cell component materials can be adopted on account of its low
operating temperature (80 °C).

The PEMFC technology shows the disadvantages listed below:

• PEMFC catalysts are susceptible to CO poisoning due to their low operating
temperature.
• The temperature of recovered waste heat is lower than that of other fuel cells. As a
result, recovered heat can be utilized only as hot water.
• The water management of the membrane electrolyte is very important for the cell
performance, because it secures the appropriate amount of water to show its
sufficient ionic conductivity.

PEM Fuel cells can generate power from some W to hundreds of kW. Because of this, they
may be used in almost every application where local electricity generation is needed.
PEMFC are already being tested inside applications such as automobiles, buses, utility
vehicles, scooters, bicycles, aerospace/military applications (e.g. Shuttle and submarines).
PEMFC are also being tested for distributed power generation inside individual homes,
buildings or communities due to their modularity and excellent flexibility in power supply.
Two issues should be considered is the difficulty to realize a highly efficient storage of

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hydrogen for long time periods and the Cost of fuel cell production is very high due to high
costs of use of platinum and hydrogen.

3.2. DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELLS (DMFCS)

DMFCs are another technology of fuel cell, based upon a polymer electrolytes membrane
(PEM) which operates at temperatures between 70 and 100 °C. The differences between
DMFC and PEMFC resides in the fuel used, which in this case is constituted by liquid
methanol dissolved in water. As the PEMFC, the DMFC are considered an environmentally
friendly technology since there is no production of sulfur or nitrogen oxides (only carbon
dioxide).The main advantage of DMFC resides in the fuel used, since methanol is a cheap
and easy to produce fuel which can be directly injected and used inside the cell itself thus
allowing a simple cell structure and consequently lower weights.
The core of a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell is the polymer electrolyte ion exchange membrane.
When the cell is activated a liquid flux of methanol is injected into the anode from where
it is diffused inside the diffusion layer. The methanol reaches the catalytic layer where it is
oxidized into carbon dioxide, protons and electrons. At this point the protons diffuse trough
the Nafion membrane and electrons through the catalytic layer but, while the electrons are
collected by the cathode thus generating an electrical current, the protons that diffuses
through the membrane react at the cathode with oxygen to produce water.

3.2.1. Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages are as follows:

• Due to the capacity of injecting the fuel directly into the cell, the air breathing and
their low operative temperature, the DMFC are the smallest fuel cell actually on
development.
• In addition, due to the same characteristics deriving from their structure the
DMFC are a quite noiseless and environment friendly technology.
• they work on methanol which is much easier to store and to produce than
hydrogen, without the hazard of explosions as in the case of the hydrogen.
• The low temperature operative range and the high usability of the fuel, DM fuel
cells are actually a well seen technology for portable applications and generators.

The drawback of the technology is that:

• DMFC actually detain an efficiency around 35% which is the lowest among all the
fuel cells.
• And Low power density.

As a consequence, DMFC can’t at the moment meet the energy production requirements
for many of their actual portable applications. DMFC are an under-development
technology.

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3.3. ALKALINE FUEL CELLS (AFCS)
The Alkaline Fuel Cells were the first type of fuel cells used inside power generators. As
many more technologies the AFC were developed by the space sector due to their wide
operative temperature ranges; at the time the aim was the development of a power source
for the alimentation of space aircrafts. There are many types of Alkaline fuel cells with
different operative temperatures ranges while the technology allows for a general
temperature between 30 °C and 250 °C (AFC for space applications can start up even at
temperatures lower than zero). AFCs use liquid KOH (a solution of potassium hydroxide)
as the electrolyte and are fueled by hydrogen. The oxidant must be pure oxygen, not air,
each cell generates a voltage between 0.5 V and 0.9 V depending on the design with an
electrical efficiency that can be up to 65%.

The general structure of an AFC is composed by a porous anode and a porous cathode,
usually made with a cheap catalyst as nickel or silver, separated by a liquid KOH solution
as the electrolyte. In the cell oxygen is feed to the cathode while the hydrogen is feed to
the anode. The electrolyte operates by transporting ions between the cathode and the anode
thus generating an electrical current through an electrochemical reaction. A wide variety
of materials (e.g., potassium titanate, ceria, asbestos, zirconium phosphate gel) have been
used in the microporous separators for AFC’s. Nowadays, the asbestos is not used due to
its carcinogenicity.

There are however 3 different designs of Alkaline Fuel Cells that have to be accounted:
Mobile electrolyte AFC’s, Static electrolyte AFC’s and Dissolved fuel AFC’s.

3.3.1. Advantages and disadvantages

This type is specialized in
• wide operating temperature range;
• high simplicity of the cell structure;
• fast start up
• competitive costs for the cell construction (due to the simplicity of the materials
involved)
• capacity to reach an electrical efficiency of 65% (which is really high for cold fuel
cells.
• a life cycle time between 10,000 and 15,000 hours due to the good compatibility of
the materials in the cell (however life cycles of 40,000 hours are required in order
to a full commercialization of a fuel cell technology).
As a result, if compared with PEM fuel cells the AFCs are cheaper and more efficient.

Disadvantages
• The reason which prevents the AFCs to become the dominant fuel cell technology
on the market is the CO2 poisoning of the electrolyte.

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 • As a matter of fact, very expensive purification systems are required in order to
guarantee the gases purity thus greatly increasing the effective cost of a power
generator based on AFCs.
• In fact, due to the high reactivity of OH- ions with carbon and its composites even
the slightest quantity of CO2 can greatly compromise the cell efficiency. This
implies that the cell must be fueled with pure hydrogen and oxygen which is not a
problem inside an environment like space but it becomes a great burden inside the
earth atmosphere.

The AFCs are still the main technology used inside the space environment as well as inside
many applications regarding submarines, but they are not considered a suitable technology
for static or mobile applications on earth.

3.4. PHOSPHORIC ACID FUEL CELL (PAFC)

The electrolyte used inside PAFCs is phosphoric acid (H3PO4) that, due to its bad ionic
conductivity, requires operative temperatures between 150 ºC and 220 ºC to properly
work. As a result, a PAFC cell is no more a quick start, low temperature fuel cell.
The fuel required for the cell is always hydrogen however due to the high temperature
range of the cells pure hydrogen is not required. This allows the cell to be fueled with
relatively impure hydrogen which can be easily derived from fuel reforming process.

The overall cell efficiency is between 37% and 42% however, if the heated water/steam
generated by the cell is used inside a combined heath system, the total efficiency can
go over 60%. The basic cell structure is made of a ceramic matrix impregnated with a
solution of phosphoric acid which is surrounded by a couple of porous electrodes used to
collect the ions and to diffuse the gasses. The cell works by dissociating the hydrogen
fueled to the anode into protons and electrons. The electrons are collected by the anode
thus generating an electrical current. Meanwhile the protons diffuse in the phosphoric acid
through the matrix layer until they reach the cathode where they recombine with the oxygen
generating heated water.

PAFC technology above all the other fuel cell technologies is the one with the most
extensive operational experience with more than 400 systems (mostly 100 kW to 400
kW power systems) installed worldwide (but the majority is installed inside the U.S. and
Japan).

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3.4.1. Advantages and disadvantages

• an operating life cycle which exceeds 65,000 hours with an operative temperature
between 150 ºC and 220 ºC;
• an electric efficiency up to 40% which can be boosted up to 60% through the use
of combined heath systems;
• partial immunity from carbon monoxide poisoning (it is immune only if there is not
a high concentration of this element inside the gas)
• capability to use hydrogen fuels without high level of purity like reformed carbon
fuels thus reducing the costs for power generation.

Disadvantages
• The operative temperature of the PAFCs is in fact too low to be successfully used
inside big stationary power generating applications (>5 MW) due fuels with high
levels of carbon monoxide like natural gasses and coal gasified gas can’t be used
without poisoning the platinum catalyst inside the cell.
• heated steam generated by PAFCs is too low in temperature to be used inside big
combined heath systems.

Such characteristics have made the PAFC an ideal candidate for early small and medium
stationary applications. However, in order to begin a massive commercialization of the
technology there are still some objectives that must be reached an operative life cycle of at
least 80,000 hours; a cost for power generation below 1,200 €/kW.

3.5. MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELLS (MCFC)

Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC) represent a high temperature technology of fuel cells
which are currently being developed as a solution for static electrical power generation or
to work with other static generation applications which are already on the market like coal-
based power plants or some industrial facilities. MCFC are a technology of fuel cells which
operates at temperatures up to 650 °C using a liquid solution of alkali carbonate salts as the
electrolyte. MCFC represent a high temperature fuel cell technology which can reach an
efficiency of 45% that can be potentially raised up to 60% - 70% if the waste heat is
correctly utilized.

Due to the high temperature, MCFCs can be fueled with gases like methane, natural gas or
coal reformed gases. However due to the same high temperature they suffer from
many problems such as fast degradation of the cell structure, due to mechanical/corrosion
problems, and constant loss of the electrolyte, due to evaporation, inside the cell (which
implies the need to refuel it continuously). The base structure of a MCFC is made with a
ceramic matrix containing the electrolyte which is surrounded by the anode, fueled by
hydrogen rich fuel, and the cathode, fueled by oxygen (usually air). There are actually two
mixtures of molten carbonate salts (the high temperature is required in order to melt this
mixture) that could be used as the electrolyte. The two mixtures can be a combination of
lithium carbonate and potassium carbonate or lithium carbonate and sodium carbonate.
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The applications that are being demonstrated ranges, regarding the generated power,
between 125 kW and 1 MW.

3.5.1. Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages:
• MCFCs efficiency goes up to 45% and, since high temperature and steam is
generated, if they are used with combined cycles heath systems the efficiency of
the MCFCs applications exceeds 50% – 60%;
• MCFCs can use a wide array of hydrogen rich fuel like natural gas or coal gasified
gasses and, if the fuel reforming takes place inside the cell, the construction of an
external reformer is not needed. These characteristics greatly reduce power
generation costs;
• The possibility to use standard and low-cost materials such as stainless steel and
nickel based alloys greatly participate in the reduction of the cell construction costs.

Disadvantages:
• Low operative life cycle due to the corrosion caused by the electrolyte used, the
loss of the electrolyte due to the high temperatures and the dissolution of the
cathode inside the electrolyte matrix, with the possibility to short-circuit the cell;
• Slow starting times determined by the need to reach an operative temperature of
650 °C;
• Impossibility to re-start the cell stack after a shut-down.

3.6. SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS (SOFC)

SOFC operative temperature ranges between 800 °C and 1000 °C. So, a wide array of
different fuels containing hydrogen (coal gas, bio gas, propane, natural gas, hydrogen)
can be used since the fuel reforming takes place directly inside the cell. SOFC detain a very
good power efficiency, near 60%, a long-term performance stability and a high thermal
efficiency. It is due to the high-quality waste heat that the steam generated can be used,
when pressurized, with a gas turbine based combined heat system which is theoretically
able to boosts the electrical efficiency up to 80%. Another characteristic derived by the
high temperatures is the possibility to start the electrochemical reaction by simply
supplying air and without the help of noble metals used as catalysts. This greatly reduces
the costs sustained for the construction of the fuel cell.

However, the high temperature drawback is that heat control inside this type of fuel cell
becomes really difficult. The result is that these cells can hardly be integrated on portable
systems for electric generation. The cell works by supplying air to the cathode where the
oxygen molecules are split into oxygen ions (O2-) with the addition of four electrons. The
ions are transported through the electrolyte and when they reach the anode, they recombine
with the hydrogen supplied thus releasing the additional electrons and generating heated
water. The electrons are then collected by the anode which generates the electrical current.

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3.6.1. Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
• The highest electric and thermal efficiency (up to 80% with combined heath
systems) among all the fuel cells.
• No need to use noble metals as catalysts inside the cell or other expensive materials.
• Possibility to use many different low-cost hydrocarbon fuels (biogas, coal gas,
natural gas).
• A long operative life cycle due to the low degradation of the materials.
• The structural simplicity of the cell permits the simplification of the production
lines.
• Very low emissions if the cell is supplied with hydrocarbon fuels and zero
emissions if the cell is supplied with pure hydrogen.
• Low noise production system

Disadvantages are:
• Long starting times to reach the proper operative temperature required by the cell
electrolyte and the thermo-mechanical.
• Problems due to coupling of materials with different thermal expansion
coefficients.
• The poor ability to thermal cycling of the SOFC cells impose to use this type of
fuel cell only for stationary applications to achieve significant lifetime.

Since SOFCs characteristics are highly suitable even for portable applications there are a
lot of research efforts focused on the reduction of the cell operative temperature. The aim
of those researches is to obtain a reduction around 450-600°C. The comparison of the FC
technologies is shown in Table 2

Table 1. Comparison of evaluative metrics of the FC technologies.

Technical Metrics Polymeric Solid Phosphori Alkaline Molten Direct

Electrolyte Oxide FCs c FCs Carbonate FCs Methanol FCs
Membrane FCs Acid FCs
1 Energy conversion 35-45 50-65 40-45 45-60 53-57 10-40
efficiency (%)
2 Cell voltage (V) 1.1 1 1.1 1 0.7-1 0.2-0.4
3 Lifespan (h) 5000–20,000 1000 >50,000 8000 7000-8000 >4500
>10,000
4 Power Density (kW/m3 4.20–35.00 4.20– 0.8–1.9 ~1.0 1.05–1.67 ~0.6
19.25
5 Power cost Up to 10, 200 481–8000 3000 >200 3500-4200 15,000–
($/kW) 125,000
6 Working 80 800-1000 180–200 60-120 650 100
Temperature
(_C)

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4. Fuel Cells in Microgrid Systems

The application of microgrid technologies in electrical systems may be classified as grid-

integrated and grid-independent systems. Whether the FC technologies are employed for
grid-connected or off grid purposes, it is necessary to establish the fact that a FC power
plant is more the FC stack. This is due to the constant supply of reactants, i.e., fuel and
oxidant, that is critical for achieving continuous production of electrical power. Therefore,
the relation between FC stack and microgrid is of interest in this subsection. The fuel and
the oxidant, for instance, need to meet a certain predetermined level of impurity before
being employed to operate the FCs. As a result, the FC power plant is structured containing
some components such as fuel processing, oxidant conditioning, electrolyte management,
and heat energy management units, including the one employed for reaction product
removal. Figure 2 illustrates the additional subsystems required for processing the energy
from the FC stack to the users. The FC microgrids are capable of producing electrical power
from as low as <1W to hundreds of kW.

The FC stack produces direct current but most of the appliances within the residential,
commercial, and industrial premises, are alternating current (AC) powered. Therefore, an
inverter or otherwise called the DC-AC converter, is employed to convert the DC output
of the FC stack to AC power. FCs also make use of DC–DC power converters in addition
to DC–AC power converters for power conditioning purposes. Also, the FC power unit
generates waste heat. This thermal energy is usually coordinated by an arrangement of heat
exchangers to the FCs to enhance the system’s efficiency and performance. Besides, some
FC technologies make use of the waste heat as input for CHP (combined heat and power)
application or bottoming cycles for additional generation of electric power. One of the
advantages of the CHP application is that it increases the efficiency of the FCs to as high
as 0.85 or even more. Another merit of the CHP is that the waste thermal energy may be
harnessed for household use such as water and space heating, food processing, drying, and
preservation, including raising of steam for industrial applications.

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In FC systems, there are two types of fuels, which are the primary and the secondary fuels.
The primary fuels include natural gas, methanol, low-sulfur extract, solid waste, naphtha,
heavy oils, coal, biomass, etc., while the secondary fuels are hydrogen and carbon
monoxide. The conversion of primary to secondary fuels is necessary because the
secondary fuels, hydrogen or carbon monoxide, are considered to be more
electrochemically functional in the FCs’ arrangements than the primary fuels. Therefore,
the role of the FC processor is to convert the primary to secondary fuels, and it usually
accounts for about 33% of the plant’s weight and capital cost, especially the one based on
hydrocarbon The output power, efficiency, water balance, heat utilization, quick start-up,
long dormancy, size, weight, and fuel supply are specific requirements for operating and
managing FC technologies. However, realizing improved efficiency and minimized
emissions are major market drivers for power and automobile applications.

4.1. Application of Fuel Cells in Microgrid Systems

4.1.1. Grid-Connected
The energy flow in this application is allowed in three different paths such as from the
electrical grid or network to the users’ load, from the FC microgrid to the users’ load, and
from the FC microgrid to the electrical grid. By using a “load-following” strategy, the
microgrid system may be designed as a constant energy source to meet the users’ maximum
electricity consumption. In this case, the excess electricity production from the microgrid
system may be exported to the electrical grid. Two sources of energy supply are available
to the users in this scenario, i.e., electrical grid and FC microgrid. The economic benefit of
exporting the surplus energy from the FC microgrid system to the electrical grid is expected
to yield a reduction in the electricity bill from the utility.

A net metering system is also expected to be part of the electrical system for evaluation
purposes. This design requires standard codes such as the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE)1547 standards for integrating distributed generation
systems. However, the schematic of a grid-connected application of FCs is shown in Figure
3, where the heavy-current load is being served by the heat from the FCs and the electrical
supply, The heavy-current load such as electric cookers, water heaters or boiling rings,
space heaters, and oven may be operated by the electrical supply.

Energy meter M is employed to quantify the energy purchased from and sold to the power
grid. The microgrid system in Figure 3 was designed with the aim of satisfying the total
load requirement in a typical household by the fuel cell system and the grid. The total load
includes the heavy-current load and the other loads such as the inductive load, TVs,
lighting, DVD player, etc. It is a conventional practice to have an interface between the
electrical arrangement and the grid, which depends on the capacity and configuration. The
interface could be a power converter for a domestic application or transformer for heavy
applications.

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4.1.2 Grid-Parallel

In this application energy may be purchased from electric grid to meet the users load when
required; however, the FC microgrid is not allowed to export any excess energy to the
electrical grid. This configuration also implies that two energy sources are available to the
users, which are the existing electrical grid and the FC microgrid systems. Therefore, the
energy flow is allowed in two different directions. The microgrid could be designed to
balance the users’ demand, while energy could be imported from the existing grid in cases
where there is an increase in users’ demand. An increase in demand is expected as the users
can climb the energy ladder. Since there is no energy flow from the FC microgrid to the
existing power grid, the interconnection codes are not required. Therefore, Figure 4
represents the grid-parallel application. Also, a battery system (auxiliary power source) is
not included in the arrangement as it has been replaced by the grid, which is also able to
provide the start-up requirements.

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4.1.3. Stand-Alone Power
In this application, there is no interaction between the users’ load and the grid, unlike the
grid-tied and grid-parallel modes, nor is there any electrical connection between the FC
microgrid system and the existing power grid. Therefore, energy flow is only available
from the on-site power system to the load. The on-site power system could be a single-
source, stand-alone power system that is entirely based on FC technology or a hybrid
system that is based on the combination of FCs and other technologies like solar PV,
biomass, battery, diesel generator, microturbines, etc.
Figure 5 shows a single source based on FCs, while Figure 6 and 7 illustrate hybrid systems
of FCs + PV and FCs + diesel generator. A microturbine generator can be used instead of
diesel generator in figure 7, which implies that power source 1 and 2 could be served from
a single primary fuel- natural gas. A load following approach is usually employed in stand-
alone power systems, that is the reason why battery storage is integrated with the energy
generation arrangement to respond to rapid variations in user’s load demand at some point
in the system operation.

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The stand-alone power has to have capability to satisfy the start-up requirements of
inductive loads such as water pumps, motors and fans. This implies that the FC microgrid
(FCs + battery storage) must be modeled to meet maximum continuous load demand for
reliability purposes. In figure 5 the FC stack can provide the charging current for the
battery bank at times when there is low energy demand by the users. However, the users
will experience loss of energy supply if the FC stack is faulty or not available to supply
power. This problem may be addressed by using the complementary characteristics of the
hybrid systems, shown in Figures 6 and 7, as the users will benefit from the hybrid energy
generation resources. In this case, some form of energy management strategy is integrated
with the power electronic converters to control the energy interchange between the power
sources and the battery storage systems.

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4.1.4. Emergency or Backup Power

In the emergency application, the microgrid system must not only possess the technical
capability to meet a fast start-up but also be connected with a battery bank or another
peaking plant. The battery bank can offer a low backup power for a short duration (usually
seconds to a few minutes); however, the FC stack can provide higher backup power in
several kW with a longer duration of >30 min. Both the electrolyzer and the hydrogen tank
can be integrated with the FC microgrid used in backup power mode. The significance of
this is that the system will be capable of producing its fuel (i.e., H2) at those periods when
electricity is imported from the grid. The electrolyzer consumes electricity to produce
hydrogen by the process of electrolysis of water, while the purpose of the hydrogen tank is
the storage of hydrogen generated by the electrolyzer for operating a hydrogen-fueled
generator. Such a system that makes use of an electrolyzer is known as the regenerative
FC. An example of backup power is the uninterruptible power supply (UPS), which can
supply power for 30 to 60 min, and it finds applications in telecom, Information and
Communications Technology (ICT), manufacturing, security, utility substations, and
traction (i.e., railway) systems.

4.1.5. DC Microgrid Application

The DC generated by the FC stack may be used to power DC appliances, without the need
for an inverter, or employed for developing a direct current (DC) microgrid. Figure 8
illustrates the DC microgrid with a connection with the existing power grid. The DC
microgrid is composed of a DC voltage source, i.e., an FC stack, which is connected to the
source DC-DC converter for achieving a higher or lower voltage output depending on the

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design requirements. A load DC-DC converter is required, as shown in Figure 8, for
interfacing the load with the DC bus, which is used to bring the bus voltage to the value
required by the load or appliance. The common voltage levels that have been employed for
telecom systems are 24 V and 48 V. It is necessary to provide an interface between the
existing power grid and the DC microgrid; this is achieved by using the bidirectional
AC-DC converter. Through this it is possible to sell back the excess electricity from the
DC microgrid to the existing power grid, as well as purchase energy from the power grid
when the output of the microgrid system is lower than the load demand. The gateway unit
requires an AC power input as it is meant to provide a bidirectional link between the
microgrid and the existing grid or other generation sources in the arrangement.

4.2. Comparison of Fuel Cell Microgrid Applications

FC systems may be employed for on-grid and off grid purposes in situations where the
microgrid system is co-located with the load. Suppose that energy supply is being provided
mainly by the FC stack, as shown in Figure 3. Then the microgrid can potentially compete
with or serve as an alternative to the grid supply or provide electricity for grid-independent
applications in isolated communities. Furthermore, operating the FC microgrid in parallel
with the existing grid could provide the opportunity for meeting peak load or baseload
requirements since continuous energy generation is a property of the energy source. The
system may be operated in combination with variable energy generation systems, like the
solar photovoltaic plant, wind generator, or biomass power system, to produce electricity
at periods when these systems are not available to power the load, as illustrated in Figure
5. The system may also be employed as an emergency energy generator in a situation
whereby the existing grid is down or the other source of electricity is unavailable.

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5. Other Fuel Cell Technologies
5.1. Regenerative Fuel Cell Technology
The regenerative FCs possess a dual operating mode. That is, they may be operated as an
electrolyzer and alternately as FCs, thus providing the opportunity to operate either in the
electrolysis or the FC mode, respectively. The electrolyzer consumes electrical energy to
generate H2 water electrolysis; the hydrogen that is produced is then fed to the hydrogen
storage tank for operating a hydrogen-fueled generator. The electrolyzer and the FC
systems may be integrated to form a single cell stack; the regenerative FC may also employ
two separate cell stacks where one is being used as the FC while the other is used as an
electrolyzer. While the single-cell stack is referred to as a unitized system, the two separate
cell stacks are regarded as a discrete system. Figure 9 illustrates a microgrid based on solar
PV modules and regenerative FCs with master and slave application of the
FCs. Such a configuration is based on a dedicated controller for fuel supply and timing of
operation for the two FCs. The cell stack produces H2 and oxygen from electrical energy
in the electrolysis mode. However, it produces electrical energy from the stored H2 (and
O2 that may be obtained from the air) in the fuel cell mode. By this characteristic (similar
to a secondary battery), regenerative FC is an energy storage system that utilizes H2 as the
storage medium. It possesses the highest specific energy that may be reached of all
rechargeable energy storage technologies. For instance, specific energy of 400 to 1000 Wh
kg-1 (watt hour per kilogram) may be achieved for a practical system.

The technology may be used in applications where it is required to store a large quantity
of energy such as the following:
• Used in combination with variable power sources such as solar and wind.

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 • Used as emergency power.
• Employed in marine systems, such as “unmanned” underwater vehicle.
• Used in spacecraft as hybrid energy storage or propulsion systems.
• Used as solar rechargeable aircraft for the high-altitude, long-endurance purpose.

These, including the fact that regenerative FCs are independent of hydrogen infrastructure
like the other FC technologies, are important factors that attract their use in the mentioned
applications. However, certain trade-offs are usually considered for planning and designing
regenerative FCs. These include the choice between oxygen and air feed, single-stack
and/or discrete systems, feed, and the choice of working pressure. Each of the mentioned
trade-offs may be weighed on different grounds, but the economic factor, efficiency, and
the duty cycles are usually the driving factors for selecting an oxidant for a particular
purpose, for instance.

5.2. Biofuel cell technology

Biofuel cells (BFCs) are a type of low-temperature technology in which “biological
catalytic” reactions are used to produce DC from the electrolysis of reactants (fuel and
oxidant), unlike in conventional low-temperature FCs where metal catalysts are used. BFCs
can use fuels like H2, methanol, and organic materials to generate electricity. They are
categorized into those systems that use bacteria and algae (living cells) and those that use
enzymes and mitochondria-catalysts extracted from cells (biological catalysts). The
operation of enzymatic FCs involves the utilization of enzymes to realize fuel and oxidant
oxidation at the anode and cathode, respectively, at neutral pH and ambient temperature
considered to be favorable compared to conventional systems. Besides, unlike the
traditional FCs, there is no need for separator and compartments in enzymatic FCs, which
is why they can be designed as miniature cells and membrane-less systems. The output of
such a technology may be useful for operating electronic devices such as sensors, etc.

5.3. Hybrid Systems and Control Mechanisms

It is proven that FCs find applications in the grid and off grid systems. Using the FC
microgrid as a single-source power system in connection with the existing grid implies that
electricity may be exported from the grid when the microgrid output is not enough to satisfy
the load requirements. However, certain limitations exist when technology, such as the
solid oxide FCs, for instance, is employed as the only power source in grid-independent
applications. These are reflected in the degradation of the system’s life span, especially
when the operation is dynamic, and the high capital cost, which affects the proliferation of
FC systems. The degradation of FCs’ lifetime will unavoidably affect their durability.
These are among the notable factors that gave a hybrid system an edge over a single-source
system in stationary applications. Then, it is of interest to put in place some control
strategies to coordinate the operation of microgrid systems that are based on multiple
energy systems.

One of the advantages of the CHP application is that it increases the efficiency of the FCs
to as high as 0.85 or even more. A recent study considered a CHP system that is based on

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solid oxide and proton exchange membrane FCs integrated with a hybrid storage
configuration for off grid purposes. The authors proposed the hybrid CHP solutions that
seek to overcome the mentioned limitations, in which case the solid oxide FCs are used to
satisfy the system’s baseload, while the production and storage of pure H2 from the solid
oxide FC anode off gas was achieved by integrating a purification unit with the system
arrangements. The stored H2 may then be employed for driving proton exchange
membrane FCs when the electricity demand peaks. The main idea of the research was the
application of a hybrid energy storage system, the battery bank and the H2 in this case, to
reduce peak electricity demands. This increased the solid oxide FC’s average “load” and
also reduced the installed size, leading to a nearly constant load operation of the solid oxide
FCs and improved durability. microgrid operation, which is based on FCs and
microturbine. The authors identified a major limitation of the microgrids that are entirely
based on FCs, which is the lack of load-following capability. This shortcoming has been
attributed to the slow “electrochemical” and “thermodynamic” reactions associated with
the internal operational characteristics of the FCs.

Low life span and high capital costs are part of the shortcomings of battery and
ultracapacitor technologies engaged for load following, just like the limitations earlier
mentioned for FCs used for single-source microgrid systems. A microturbine may also be
integrated with the FCs to satisfy both the steady-state and the transient requirements of
the load both in on-grid and off grid applications. The microturbine, though similar to a
conventional gas turbine, possesses a quick response because of its favorable compact
design, which allows a faster rate of flow of gas. These properties make the microturbine
a suitable option for achieving load-following capability

The hybrid energy management (HEM) system model was presented by author, which was
based on proton exchange membrane FCs, solar PV, and wind generator. The authors
proposed a novel adaptive control strategy for coordinating the energy flow or interchange
in stand-alone microgrid systems. The HEM system coordinates the hybrid energy sources
(HES) and the storage device is based on the artificial neural network control (ANNc) and
fuzzy logic control (FLC) mechanisms. Besides, the ANNc is used to attain the maximum
power point (MPPT) of the solar PV modules, while the FLC is employed for energy
sharing between the HES and the charge/discharge characteristics for optimizing the
overall performance. The FLC is also adopted in the study to enhance the energy-
generating performance of the FCs and its lifespan by controlling the FC stack temperature.

6. Impact of Employing FCs in Microgrids

The microgrid, a low voltage (LV) network, can integrate distributed energy resources and
different kinds of loads, which may be operated in grid-integrated or grid-independent
modes. Distributed energy resources include solar, wind, small hydro, biomass, fuel cells,
battery, etc. The output of the microgrid system is usually affected by the behavior of the
energy source(s) it contains. In a practical microgrid, the FC technology is affected by the
fuel supply, for instance, and it also requires the addition of a storage system. The
utilization of the FCs in conjunction with the battery and/or other sources of energy
requires some form of control mechanism.

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7. Fuel Cells Future Outlook
The finite nature of fossil fuels and the environmental issues associated with their power
generation systems are major factors that led to the efforts by the global community to
adopt energy resources that are eco-friendly and sustainable. One of the products of these
efforts is the utilization of renewable energy resources, solar, wind, biomass, etc., which
are already deployed in on-grid and off-grid microgrid systems around the globe. Batteries
are popular storage technologies used to mitigate the effect of intermittencies in renewable
energies. However, FCs have a greater capability for power applications compared to
battery technologies, as they can also provide the ancillary services such as voltage and
frequency regulation, power quality support, etc. The capacity of FCs to deliver continuous
power makes them a suitable source of power generation and emergency/backup supply.
For instance, in energy management systems, FCs can provide backup for a longer period
than batteries They can provide constant power supply, unlike renewable energy sources
that have variable characteristics.

They are environmentally friendly, unlike a constant power source such as the internal
combustion engines that produce noise and emissions. FC systems have higher specific
energy compared to batteries. Based on the mentioned factors, there is the possibility that
electrical power systems will experience a wider application of FCs within the next five to
10 years, as they have the technical characteristics and advantages to compete with other
energy resources. This is also dependent on the market dynamics and developments in
R&D that can optimize performance and cost. This is because high capital cost is one factor
that limits the proliferation of the FC power system in the market. With this in mind FC
systems have to be cost effective in terms of capital and installation costs to compete with
the conventional electrical power production systems. In addition, intensive research is
required to enhance the lifespan of FCs and also minimize the complexities in fuel
processing and system operation.

8. Conclusions
There is the possibility that electrical power systems will experience a wider application of
FCs within the next five to 10 years as they have the technical characteristics and
advantages to compete with other energy resources. This is also dependent on the market
dynamics and developments in R&D that can optimize performance and cost. This is
because high capital cost is one factor that limits the proliferation of the FC power system
in the market. With this in mind, FC systems have to be cost effective in terms of capital
and installation costs to compete with the conventional electrical power production system.
Also, intensive research is required to enhance the lifespan of FCs and also minimize the
complexities in fuel processing and system operation and ensuring the safety of users given
the volatility nature of hydrogen. The application of FCs in microgrid systems based on
some attractive features such as being clean, pollution-free, highly efficient, and flexible
and promising energy resource for microgrid applications that need more attention in
research and development terms. Furthermore, they can offer continuous operation and do
not require recharging. Since microgrid systems can help to strengthen the existing power
grid and are suitable for solving the problem of energy poverty or shortage in remote
locations.

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9. References:

1- Leonardo Giorgi.; Fabio Leccese. Fuel Cells: Technologies and Applications. The
Open Fuel Cells Journal, 2013.
2- Daniel Akinyele.; Elijah Olabode.; Abraham Amole. Review of Fuel Cell
Technologies and Applications for Sustainable Microgrid Systems. Inventions,
inventions 19 August 2020

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