Hydrogen as a Fuel
...separates the protons and electrons. The protons are allowed to pass through the PEM to the cathode. However the electrons are not able to pass through and are forced around the cell to the other side. The flow of electrons around the cell produces electricity. The electrons and protons then meet up again at the cathode where they combine with oxygen to produce water and heat. Just one of these fuel cells produces only about 1.16 volts of electricity. So in many places a number of fuel cells are combined to get the desired electricity. In 2003 Congress started to look into Hydrogen Fuel Cells when it asked the Department of Energy (DOE) to report on the status of the fuel cells. The report assessed the benefits of hydrogen as a fuel source. The report also looked at the technical and economic barriers that would affect it from being sold commercially by 2012. The benefits reported: • Reduction of greenhouse gases • Efficiency improvements with considerable energy savings • Reduced imports of foreign oils with a 30% savings in natural gas and 50% in automobile fuel • National security benefits using low-temp cells as battery replacements with little heat detection and quiet operation for extended field operations • Zero emission generation systems including power plants and transportation • Significant air quality improvements The study indicates that a federal role is needed in research and develop new fuel cell technology. It goes on to say that market forces alone were unlikely to result in large-scale use of hydrogen fuel cells within the next decade due to its unproven technology and consumer preferences. Low temperature, phosphoric acid and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are already in use in lower-capacity applications. The UTC Corporations has made over 200 of this type of Hydrogen Fuel Cell, including the cell that powers Liverpool High School in New York. The fuel cell at Liverpool High School, called the PC25, is capable of producing 200-kilowatts of electricity. In addition there are several high temperature, molten carbonate and solid oxide, hydrogen fuel cells in large power applications. However these are much less common. Both have great future potential as fair trade, compatibility, infrastructure, safety requirements, regulations and high-volume, low-cost manufacturing are developed. Infrastructure is the number one economic challenge and barrier to wide usage in the energy and transportation industries. Imagine the installation of hydrogen pumps at local gas stations across the country. To be cost effective consumers must buy a hydrogen powered vehicle. The down side is that the technology is currently unaffordable to most lower and middle-class families. However, several experimental cars are being put to the test and opening up the market to consumer demand, as is the case in Los Angeles with city employees. The mayor of LA, James Hahn signed a lease with Honda for five hydrogen fuel powered cars. Hydrogen as a liquid is used with small fuel cells in automobiles. Nearly every automobile manufacturer currently produces hydrogen propelled cars, trucks and buses. Hydrogen fueling stations are located in over 7 states in the U.S. and over 20 countries worldwide. A kilo of hydrogen and a gallon of gasoline are approximately the same in price in today’s market; however a kilo of H will produce enough energy to take a vehicle twice as far as a gallon of gasoline. Not only are consumers saving time and money, the zero emissions give us cleaner air and health benefits. With oil production falling and resources becoming scarcer, hydrogen fuel is expected to be less expensive in the near future. To read more about hydrogen transportation applications see http://www.fuelcells.org/info/charts/carchart.pdf. Hydrogen fuel cells can be used in several different markets. The PC25, as described earlier, operates at 200kw and can generate enough energy to supply approximately 150 homes with the majority of their electrical, heat and hot water needs. Larger units and/or stacked units are available that generate as much electricity as needed. UTC (United Technologies Corporation, located in Hartford, CT) Fuel Cells operate on natural gas or methane. Currently hydrogen fuel cells are used in institutions like Liverpool High School, the NYC Central Park Police Headquarters, Merck’s Research facility in New Jersey, Omaha Zoo in Nebraska, a nursing home in Pittsburgh, the University of California, Kraft Foods in California, North Central Hospital in the Bronx, a hotel in Spokane Washington, a hog farm in Japan and over 100 different institutions all over the world. To see the different installations visit http://www.fuelcells.org/info/charts/FCInstallationChart.pdf for 27 pages of different applications of hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen fuel cells are steadily becoming the energy generator of the future. With consumer education and smarter choices in how we operate as a society with sustainable living practices and using our money as power to get us there, we c...