THE COMING FUEL CELL REVOLUTION

If silence is golden and efficiency is grace, fuel cell use is what the world has been waiting for. Fuel cells produce energy with little discernable noise. Compared with most other ways that energy is produced, the fuel cell is a model of efficiency. But the promise of fuel cells goes far beyond these two benefits. Widespread fuel cell use will improve air quality on a global scale, create a huge global industry (with millions of jobs), and make obsolete unsightly power generating stations, substations and power lines.

The theory behind fuel cells has been around since1839; practical, operating units were developed more than thirty years ago. Intense research efforts are under way around the world to develop fuel cells that will produce electricity and power motor vehicles

Here's how the fuel cell works: The first section is called The Fuel Processing Section. In this section, low-pressure natural gas (other hydrogen bearing fuels such as gasoline, propane, ethanol and diesel will also work) is combined with steam in a catalyst chamber called a reformer to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The product, called converted natural gas, goes to the next section as hydrogen rich fuel.

The second section is called The Fuel Cell Power Section. Here, hydrogen rich fuel from the first stage chemically reacts with oxygen from the air in a second catalytic "battery." The "battery" is actually a stack of anode and cathode plates that use phosphoric acid as the electrolyte. This reaction produces direct electric current and water vapor. The fuel that has not reacted plus the steam from the reaction process is recycled back to the Fuel Processing Section. Continuous cycling occurs. Excess heat also passes through a heat exchanger and can be used for water or space heating.

The third section is the Power Conditioner Section. This section uses transistorized electronic circuits to convert the direct electric (DC) current into standard alternating current (AC), the kind that is found in conventional electric grid systems. The third section also includes a microprocessor control system that enables the fuel cell to operate connected into an electric utility grid or as a stand-alone electric generator.

Fuel cell benefits are numerous: When fuel cells generate electric power they produce few (depending on the type of fuel cell and the energy source used) emissions compared to the conventional methods. Autos powered by fuel cells would have low-level exhaust emissions. In the United States, fuel cell use would decrease oil imports, reduce the trade deficit and create jobs. If you add in the quietness, efficiency and over-all air quality benefits, it is no wonder that the race to develop fuel cells has become an international competition. Substantial markets and profits await the winners of this race.

There seems little doubt that costs for conventional fuels for electric generation and for fossil fuels, overall, will rise as demands increase and supplies decline. Just as surely, the cost of fuel cell units of all kinds and sizes will come down as the demand for them increases and as the technology improves. The time will come when the fuel cells will be more than cost competitive with the older energy sources.