HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS

Matthew Durden May 5, 2011 Period: 6

Hydrogen fuel cells were invented in 1839 in England by Sir William Grove. The discovery occurred because of his experiments involving electrolysis. He believed that if you could use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, then you could do the opposite. Because of the technology required to build an efficient fuel cell, the idea was mostly dormant until the 1950s. NASA was looking for a suitable fuel source for their upcoming manned space flights. Their efforts led to the development of the first Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. General Electric also conducted research, and, in 1955 and 1958, Willard Thomas Grubb and Leonard Niedrach redesigned the original fuel cell, creating the Grubb-Niedrach fuel cell. Together, GE and NASA conducted the first commercial use of a hydrogen fuel cell on the Gemini space project. Hydrogen fuel cells work similar to a battery, except that fuel cells do not run out of power. They have two electrodes, an anode, and a cathode, selected by membranes. Oxygen passes over one of the electrodes and hydrogen over the other. The hydrogen reacts to a catalyst which converts the hydrogen gas into negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions. The electrons flow out as electricity and the ions combine with the oxygen to form water. Hydrogen is a renewable resource because it can be extracted from the environment whenever required. However, the burning of fossil fuels is required to perform electrolysis to extract it. Research has been put into solar and hydro-electric powered hydrolysis, but it is not yet usable on large scales. There are several positive aspects of hydrogen fuel cells. The biggest one is the fact that they produce no pollution. The only products are water vapor and heat. Just to name a few others, it can also be refueled quickly, because of its liquid state, it is the most abundant element on Earth, its twice as efficient as gasoline, and the highest mileage that a hydrogen car has

reached is 480 miles on one tank. There are also negative aspects. Even though it is the most abundant element on Earth, hydrogen is always attached to something else, and electrolysis is the least efficient way of obtaining it. Also, there are hardly and public fueling stations across the world and hydrogen cars are not yet available for purchase. They can only be leased. All of these negative aspects of hydrogen fuel cells can eventually be eliminated, however. The only permanent con of hydrogen fuel cells is hydrogens extremely high flammability. Currently, hydrogen fuel cells are used mostly in space exploration and transportation, both public and private. Hydrogen powered buses are becoming increasingly popular in Europe and North America. There are currently over 300 hydrogen powered vehicles in America. Finally, hydrogen fuel cells have been used in generators for both small and large buildings, ranging from homes to hospitals. In addition, several countries around the world are pitching in to research involving hydrogen fuel cell powered planes. About 9 million metric tons of hydrogen is produced annually in America. That is enough to power 20 to 30 million cars or 5 to 8 million homes.

The future of hydrogen fuel cells could be huge, as long as it can get started. They could be used to power all of our vehicles and buildings, and if solar powered electrolysis was developed, hydrogen could solve all of our energy need problems. However, starting the industry would be almost impossible. The problem is refueling. Nobody would pay to build refueling stations if nobody would use them, and nobody would buy a hydrogen-powered car if there is nowhere to refuel them. There are currently only 68 refueling stations in America and about 33% of them are in California. This leaves other parts of America out of luck. However, if they are successful enough in California, they could potentially spread to the rest of the world.

Coal V. Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Coal is a solid, but brittle, fossil fuel. It is a carbonaceous black sedimentary rock. Because it takes millions of years to form, it is a nonrenewable resource. The pros of coal are: it is plentiful, it is inexpensive, and it is versatile. The cons of coal are: it cause pollution, which causes health and environmental concerns, and it is nonrenewable. Compared to hydrogen, it is easier to use and acquire, but worse for the environment and, unlike hydrogen, it has a limited supply. Coal is used much more than hydrogen all over the world. 52% of the worlds nations electricity comes from the burning of coal. It is burnt at most American power plants. In order of largest to smallest, the largest producers of coal are Australia, USA, Indonesia, Canada, Russia, and Poland. However, America has more than any other country, an estimated 250 year supply.

Bibliography
"History." FCTec Home Page. Concurrent Technologies Corporation, 2001. Web. 04 May 2011. <http://www.fctec.com/fctec_history.asp>. Bellis, Mary. "How Hydrogen Fuels Cells Work." Inventors. About.com. Web. 04 May 2011. <http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/ss/Physics_Illustr_2.htm>. "EIA Energy Kids - Hydrogen." U.S. Energy Information Administration. Web. 04 May 2011. <http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=hydrogen_home-basics-k.cfm>.