Fuel cells

The principles and present-day embodiments of fuel cells are discussed. Nearly all cells are hydrogen/oxygen ones, where the hydrogen fuel is usually obtained on-site from the reforming of methane or methanol. There exists a tension between the promise of high efficiency in the conversion of chemical into electrical energy and of very low emissions of noxious compounds, and the enormous difficulty of manufacturing the fuel cells cost-effectively. After three decennia of widespread effort to adapt the fuel cell to terrestrial applications, it is still too early to say whether their large-scale introduction will prove to be viabIe. However, a very considerabIe effort is presently being undertaken to make it happen