Breakthrough! Fuel Cell Alternative for Cars

There have been ongoing research on Fuel Cell as an providing alternative energy source. This is especially needed in the field of vehicle manufacturing where there are so many challenges associated with the internal combustion engine.

Today we would  discuss Fuel Cells under the following topics:

1. What are fuel cells?
2. Types of Fuel Cells
3. How do they work?
4. How does it compare to conventional batteries?
5. How efficient are they in electric vehicles?

1. What are Fuel Cells?

A fuel cell is a cell that converts chemical energy(fuel) into electrical energy by means of electrochemical reaction. The converted electrical energy could then be used for other processes such as lighting, driving some motor, powering some electronic devices in the vehicle etc.

The chemical used in fuel cell is normally hydrogen and this is store in  some chamber from where it is discharged into a chamber where it combines with oxygen to produce electrical energy.

2. Types of Fuel Cells

I would just outline the types without given details of how each type works because all of them operated on the same basic principle.

• PEMFC(Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell
• Alcaline Fuel Cell(AFC)
• HTFC (High Temperature Fuel Cell)
• SAFC (Solid Acid/Oxide Fuel Cell)
• MCFC(Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell)

There are a few other variants but these are the most commonly used.

3. How Does Fuel Cell Work?

The components of a fuel cell includes:

• the Anode
• the Electrolyte
• the Cathode

At the anode, the fuel is oxidized(mixed with oxygen) producing ions and electrons. The ions passes through the electrolyte to the cathode. At the cathode, the positive ions combines with electrons, an the end result is water or carbon dioxide. The process is more complex than this, but I have tried to keep it very simple.

The process is illustrated in Figure 1.

4. How Fuel Cells Compare Batteries

5. Use of Fuel Cell in Electric Vehicles