| fuel cells What
is a fuel cell?
A
fuel cell is a device with two electrodes that produces electricity by chemical
reactions that take place at the electrodes. Hydrogen is the commonly used fuel.
The first fuel cell was invented in 1839 by William Grove, an English scientist. A
catalyst is typically required to speed up the chemical reactions in order to
produce electricity in meaningful amounts. An electrolyte then carries electrically
charged particles from one electrode to the other to generate an electric current. The
fuel cell is an attractive technology because it generates electricity with very
little pollution: the byproduct from a hydrogen fuel cell is water. Fuel
cells are also modular, i.e. fuel cells can be assembled together to generate
the required amount of electricity. Waste heat from certain types of fuel cells
can also be tapped for further use, increasing the system efficiency. Learn
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