View related links that provide details about DOE-funded fuel cell activities. Cost, performance, and durability are still key challenges in the fuel cell industry.
Department of Energy (DOE) is working closely with its national laboratories, universities, and industry partners to overcome critical technical barriers to fuel cell development. View the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office's fuel cell animation to see how a fuel cell operates. The protons migrate through the electrolyte to the cathode, where they unite with oxygen and the electrons to produce water and heat. The electrons go through an external circuit, creating a flow of electricity. In a hydrogen fuel cell, a catalyst at the anode separates hydrogen molecules into protons and electrons, which take different paths to the cathode. A fuel, such as hydrogen, is fed to the anode, and air is fed to the cathode. A fuel cell consists of two electrodes-a negative electrode (or anode) and a positive electrode (or cathode)-sandwiched around an electrolyte. They produce electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied. How Fuel Cells Workįuel cells work like batteries, but they do not run down or need recharging. Fuel cells are quiet during operation as they have few moving parts. There also are no air pollutants that create smog and cause health problems at the point of operation. Hydrogen fuel cells emit only water, addressing critical climate challenges as there are no carbon dioxide emissions. Fuel cells have lower or zero emissions compared to combustion engines. Fuel cells can operate at higher efficiencies than combustion engines and can convert the chemical energy in the fuel directly to electrical energy with efficiencies capable of exceeding 60%. Why Study Fuel Cellsįuel cells can be used in a wide range of applications, providing power for applications across multiple sectors, including transportation, industrial/commercial/residential buildings, and long-term energy storage for the grid in reversible systems.įuel cells have several benefits over conventional combustion-based technologies currently used in many power plants and vehicles. Fuel cells are unique in terms of the variety of their potential applications they can use a wide range of fuels and feedstocks and can provide power for systems as large as a utility power station and as small as a laptop computer. If hydrogen is the fuel, the only products are electricity, water, and heat. A fuel cell uses the chemical energy of hydrogen or other fuels to cleanly and efficiently produce electricity.
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