Fuel Cells


Introduction


While the technology for these electrochemical power plants has existed since 1839, fuel cells became the electric power source of choice with the U.S. Space initiative in the 1960s. Fuel cells emit virtually zero criteria pollutants and are designed to operate on zero-carbon hydrogen as a fuel. As a result, the environmental challenges with urban air quality and climate change have ignited interest in the commercialization and application of fuel cells for both stationary and mobile applications. The first stationary fuel cell commercial deployment occurred in 1992, and the first mobile fuel cell commercial deployment occurred in 2014. Today, a viable market is rapidly taking hold for fuel cells as a clean, and economically and technically viable power source for vehicles and the generation of electricity, and serve as the prime candidate for complementing diurnal varying and intermittent wind and solar renewable power with clean and firm (i.e., 24/7 and load-following) power generation.