Fuel Cells

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Fuel Cells

• By Daniel Hails
• Mordejai Burstein

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Imagine

•   a future with no wars over limited    supplies
  of oil.

  a future where every nation is
energy    self-sufficient.
 no more acid rain, ozone depletion    or global
warming.
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Why Hydrogen?

• Fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel and coal
  all produce airborne pollutants.
• Methanol, or "natural gas", also creates noxious
  fumes.
• All of these pollutants contribute to smog and
  also play a major part as culprits behind acid
  rain and global warming.
• Hydrogen fuel can be a cleaner alternative to
  fossil fuels, and it can be 100 pollution-free.

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How is hydrogen made from water, and what happens
when hydrogen is burned?

• The hydrogen atoms are separated from the oxygen
  atoms through a process called "electrolysis" and
  then compressed into fuel tanks.
• When the hydrogen atoms are subsequently burned
  as fuel, they recombine with oxygen atoms and
  turn back into water..

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What is a Hydrogen Fuel Cell?

• Hydrogen fuel cells are actually hydrogen
  batteries that generate electricity.

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• A 30 ft. Hydrogen Fuel cell powered transit bus
  made by Ballard Power Systems in Canada.
• It has a 275 horsepower engine, and a range of
  250 miles before requiring refueling.
• The only emmision from this bus is warm, moist
  air.

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Challenges

• Cost
• Durability and Dependability
• Public Acceptance
• Production
• Delivery
• Storage
• Safety

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Cost

• The greatest challenge to fuel cell development
  and adaptation.
• Several fuel cell designs require expensive,
  precious-metal catalysts, or materials that are
  resistant to extremely high temperatures.
• Costs are also associated with fuel cell
  durability and operating lifetime, fuel delivery
  and storage.

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Durability and Dependability

• High-temperature fuel cells, in particular, are
  prone to material breakdown and shortened
  operating lifetimes.
• PEM fuel cells must have effective water
  management systems to operate dependably and
  efficiently.
• All fuel cells are prone, to catalyst poisoning,
  which decreases fuel cell performance and
  longevity.

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Public Acceptance

• Fuel cell technology must be embraced by
  consumers before its benefits can be realized.
• Consumers may have concerns about the
  dependability and safety of fuel-cell-powered
  equipment, just as they have about other modern
  devices when they were introduced.

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Production

• Hydrogen is currently more expensive to produce
  than conventional fuels, such as gasoline.
• Many of the more cost-effective production
  methods generate greenhouse gases.

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Delivery

• The current system for delivering conventional
  fuels to consumers cannot be used for hydrogen,
  so new infrastructure will have to be developed
  and deployed.
• Since several potential technologies are evolving
  at this stage of development, the exact
  infrastructure requirements have not been
  determined.

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Storage

• Hydrogen has a low energy density in terms of
  volume, making it difficult to store amounts
  adequate for most applications in a
  reasonable-sized space. (This is a particular
  problem for hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles,
  which must store hydrogen in compact tanks.)
• High-pressure storage tanks are currently being
  developed, and research is being conducted into
  the use of other storage technologies such as
  metal hydrides and carbon nanostructures
  (materials that can absorb and retain high
  concentrations of hydrogen).

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Safety

• Hydrogen, like gasoline or any other fuel, has
  safety risks and must be handled with due
  caution however, handling hydrogen will be new
  to most of us, so it needs to be learned.

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Hydrogen Rich Fuels

• Fuel cell systems can also be fueled with
  hydrogen-rich fuels, such as methanol, natural
  gas, gasoline, or gasified coal.
• Advantages
• It allows the use of fuels with higher energy
  density than pure hydrogen gas, such as methanol,
  natural gas, and gasoline.
• It allows the use of conventional fuels delivered
  using the existing infrastructure.
• Disadvantages to reforming hydrogen-rich fuels
• Onboard reformers add to the complexity, cost,
  and maintenance demands of fuel cell systems.
• If the reformer allows carbon monoxide to reach
  the fuel cell anode, it can gradually decrease
  the performance of the cell.
• Reformers produce carbon dioxide (a prominent
  greenhouse gas) and other air pollutants, but
  less than typical fossil combustion processes.

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Government Agencies

• U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen ProgramThe
  mission of the DOE Hydrogen Program is to conduct
  research and development in the areas of hydrogen
  production and storage for the purpose of making
  hydrogen a safe, cost-effective energy carrier.
• National Hydrogen AssociationThe National
  Hydrogen Association (NHA) is leading the
  transition from a fossil fuel-based energy
  infrastructure to a hydrogen based one. The NHA
  provides the setting for mutual support among
  industry, government, and research/academic
  organizations.
• U.S. Department of Defense Fuel Cell
  Demonstration ProgramThe purpose of DoDs Fuel
  Cell Demonstration Program is to stimulate growth
  and economies in the hydrogen and fuel cell
  industry.

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Citation

• www.eere.energy.gov
• www.fuelcells.org
• U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program
• National Hydrogen Association
• U.S. Department of Defense Fuel Cell
  Demonstration Program