Hydrogen Fuel Cell – Basics
Friday, May 29th, 2009
Nick Tart
Whenever you hear a conversation or read an article about hydrogen fuel cells, you tend not to listen because you do not want your mind to be boggled. But the truth is, hydrogen fuel cells are a lot simpler than most other technology.
Simply put, a fuel cell is a device that generates electricity through chemical reactions. In a hydrogen fuel cell, the primary reactant is, obviously, hydrogen. As hydrogen is being pumped into the fuel cells, an electrode strips the atom of its electrons and the hydrogen becomes ionized. The stripped electrons then create an electrical current. At the same time, oxygen filters into the fuel cell. Combining with the hydrogen, the two create a chemical reaction which in turn forms water.
The greatest appeal of hydrogen fuel cells i that they generate electricity while causing esentially no pollution. So why not generate all electricity through hydrogen fuel cells? There are two main reasons.
One fuel cell does not generate very much electricity. In order for fuel cells to be useful there must be several of them working together to generate a significant amount of energy. Typically hydrogen fuel cells are assembled into a stack.
Fuel cells are relatively expensive. Compared to other sources of producing energy, fuel cells are financially impractical. Costing about $1000 per kilowatt of electric power output, not many businesses can justify using this technology.
However, scientists are continually working on ways to improve the efficiencies and lessen the costs associated with hydrogen fuel cells. If they are successful, hydrogen fuel cell technology will undoubtedly be the primary energy source throughout the world!
Whenever you hear a conversation or read an article about hydrogen fuel cells, you tend not to listen because you do not want your mind to be boggled. But the truth is, hydrogen fuel cells are a lot simpler than most other technology.
Simply put, a fuel cell is a device that generates electricity through chemical reactions. In a hydrogen fuel cell, the primary reactant is, obviously, hydrogen. As hydrogen is being pumped into the fuel cells, an electrode strips the atom of its electrons and the hydrogen becomes ionized. The stripped electrons then create an electrical current. At the same time, oxygen filters into the fuel cell. Combining with the hydrogen, the two create a chemical reaction which in turn forms water.
The greatest appeal of hydrogen fuel cells i that they generate electricity while causing esentially no pollution. So why not generate all electricity through hydrogen fuel cells? There are two main reasons.
One fuel cell does not generate very much electricity. In order for fuel cells to be useful there must be several of them working together to generate a significant amount of energy. Typically hydrogen fuel cells are assembled into a stack.
Fuel cells are relatively expensive. Compared to other sources of producing energy, fuel cells are financially impractical. Costing about $1000 per kilowatt of electric power output, not many businesses can justify using this technology.
However, scientists are continually working on ways to improve the efficiencies and lessen the costs associated with hydrogen fuel cells. If they are successful, hydrogen fuel cell technology will undoubtedly be the primary energy source throughout the world!