The Future Is Fuel Cells
Fuel cells are uniquely positioned among power generation systems to provide clean, reliable, quiet power.
What Are Fuel Cells?
Fuel cells produce electricity by harnessing the energy released from a redox reaction between a fuel and oxidizer, most commonly Hydrogen Gas and Oxygen from the atmosphere.
How Do Fuel Cells Work?
Most fuel cells electrochemically combine hydrogen gas and oxygen to produce electricity. In contrast, normal fuel generators burn the inputted fuel, then convert the heat released from combustion into electricity. By directly converting chemical energy into electricity, fuel cells are able to extract energy more efficiently. Also, since hydrogen fuel cells do not rely on combustion and have no moving parts, they do not have many of the side effects traditional generators have, such as a loud operating sound, an unpleasant smell, and harmful byproducts. The only product of hydrogen fuel cells is pure water.
There are also Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) which are able to utilize traditional fuels, such as natural gas, while retaining many of the benefits of hydrogen fuel cells.
Why Fuel Cells?
Fuel cells have higher specific power density than batteries. This means fuel cells are lighter and require less space than comparable battery systems. This quality is especially useful in weight-restricting systems, such as transportation.
Fuel cells are reliable and much quieter than combustion generators. Personal combustion generators produce sound comparable to a lawnmower non-stop, while fuel cells generators produce much less noise.