Invented by : William Robert Grove
Invented in year : 1839
A fuel cell is an electrochemical conversion device. It produces electricity from fuel (on the anode side) and an oxidant (on the cathode side), which react in the presence of an electrolyte. The reactants flow into the cell, and the reaction products flow out of it, while the electrolyte remains within it. Fuel cells can operate virtually continuously as long as the necessary flows are maintained. A hydrogen cell uses hydrogen as fuel and oxygen (usually from air) as oxidant. Other fuels include hydrocarbons and alcohols. Other oxidants include chlorine and chlorine dioxide.
Sir William Robert Grove, a Welsh judge, inventor and physicist invented the first fuel cell in 1839. He mixed hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of an electrolyte, and produced electricity and water. The invention, which later became known as a fuel cell, didn't produce enough electricity to be useful.
Development in the invention of Hydrogen Fuel Cell
The term fuel cell was first coined by Ludwig Mond and Charles Langer in 1889. Langer attempted to build a working fuel cell using air and industrial coal gas. Another source states that it was William White Jaques who first coined the term "fuel cell." Jaques was also the first researcher to use phosphoric acid in the electrolyte bath.
In the 1920s, fuel cell research in Germany paved the way to the development of the carbonate cycle and solid oxide fuel cells of today. In 1932, engineer Francis T Bacon began his vital research into fuels cells. Early cell designers used porous platinum electrodes and sulphuric acid as the electrolyte bath. Using platinum was expansive and using sulphuric acid was corrosive. Bacon improved on the expensive platinum catalysts with a hydrogen and oxygen cell using a less corrosive alkaline electrolyte and inexpensive nickel electrodes. It took a long time for Bacon to perfect his design. And in 1959 he demonstrated a five-kilowatt fuel cell that could power a welding machine. Francis T. Bacon, a direct descendent of the other well known Francis Bacon, named his famous fuel cell design the "Bacon Cell."
In October of 1959, Harry Karl Ihrig, an engineer for the Allis - Chalmers Manufacturing Company, demonstrated a 20-horsepower tractor that was the first vehicle ever powered by a fuel cell. During the early 1960s, General Electric produced the fuel-cell-based electrical power system for NASA's Gemini and Apollo space capsules. General Electric used the principles found in the 'Bacon Cell' as the basis of its design. Today, the Space Shuttle's electricity is provided by fuel cells, and the same fuel cells provide drinking water for the crew. NASA decided that using nuclear reactors was too high a risk, and using batteries or solar power was too bulky to use in space vehicles. NASA has funded more than 200 research contracts exploring fuel-cell technology, bringing the technology to a level now viable for the private sector.
The first bus powered by a fuel cell was completed in 1993, and several fuel-cell cars are now being built in Europe and in the United States. Daimler Benz and Toyota launched prototype fuel-cell powered cars in 1997. In February, 1999, Europe's first public commercial hydrogen fuel station for cars and trucks opened for business in Hamburg, Germany. In April, 1999, Daimler Chrysler unveiled the liquid hydrogen vehicle NECAR 4. With a top speed of 90 mph and a 280-mile tank capacity, the car wowed the press. The company plans to have fuel-cell vehicles in limited production by the year 2004.
Role of Hydrogen Fuel Cell in the Improvement of Human Life
- Hydrogen Fuel Cell has lead to increase in awareness of environment protection
- Using hydrogen-powered fuel cells has and can cut down on pollutants that contribute to urban air-quality problems, because fuel cells don't produce any particulates, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides or volatile organic compounds.
- Fuel cells also operate silently, reducing noise pollution.
- Fuel cells are expected to become a multi-billion-dollar market worldwide over the next decade, creating new employment opportunities
- Fuel cells are very useful as power sources in remote locations, such as spacecraft, remote weather stations, large parks, rural locations, and in certain military applications. A fuel cell system running on hydrogen can be compact and lightweight, and have no major moving parts. Because fuel cells have no moving parts and do not involve combustion, in ideal conditions they can achieve up to 99.9999% reliability
