Renewable Energy Systems:
A Qualitative study of the new electrochemical devices
called Fuel Cell
Abstract:
Technically a fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water and in the process it produces electricity. The other electrochemical device we are familiar with is the battery. A battery has all of its chemicals stored inside, and it converts those chemicals into electricity. This means that a battery eventually “goes dead” and you need to recharge it. With a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the cell. So, it never goes dead-as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell, the electricity flows out of the cell. Most fuel cells in use today use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals. There are several different kinds of fuel cells, each using a different chemistry. The type of electrolyte they use classifies Fuel Cells. Some type of fuel cells work well for use in stationary power generation plants. Others may be useful for small portable applications or for powering cars. . The beauty of fuel cells is their versatility - since they are scalable, fuel cells can be stacked until the desired power output is reached. The voltage from a single cell is about 0.7 volts, just about enough for a light bulb. When the cells are stacked in a series, the operating voltage increases to 0.7 volts multiplied by the number of cells stacked. Fuel cells enable us to think about power generation in innovative ways
