A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel and an oxidizing agent into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requiring a continuous source of fuel and oxygen to sustain the chemical reaction, whereas in a battery the chemical energy usually comes from substances that are already present in the battery. Fuel cells can produce electricity continuously for as long as fuel and oxygen are supplied.
A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen to move. Hydrogen vehicles include some road vehicles, rail vehicles, space rockets, forklifts, ships and aircraft. Motive power is generated by converting the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy, either by reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to power electric motors or, less commonly, by hydrogen internal combustion.
Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), also known as polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells, are a type of fuel cell being developed mainly for transport applications, as well as for stationary fuel-cell applications and portable fuel-cell applications. Their distinguishing features include lower temperature/pressure ranges and a special proton-conducting polymer electrolyte membrane. PEMFCs generate electricity and operate on the opposite principle to PEM electrolysis, which consumes electricity. They are a leading candidate to replace the aging alkaline fuel-cell technology, which was used in the Space Shuttle.
A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate electricity generally using oxygen from the air and compressed hydrogen. Most fuel cell vehicles are classified as zero-emissions vehicles. As compared with internal combustion vehicles, hydrogen vehicles centralize pollutants at the site of the hydrogen production, where hydrogen is typically derived from reformed natural gas. Transporting and storing hydrogen may also create pollutants. Fuel cells have been used in various kinds of vehicles including forklifts, especially in indoor applications where their clean emissions are important to air quality, and in space applications. Fuel cells are being developed and tested in trucks, buses, boats, ships, motorcycles and bicycles, among other kinds of vehicles.
Geoffrey Edwin Hall Ballard, CM, OBC was a Canadian geophysicist and businessman. A longtime advocate of replacing the internal combustion engine, in 1979 Ballard founded what would become Ballard Power Systems to develop commercial applications of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM). Acknowledged worldwide as the father of the fuel cell industry, Time named him a "Hero for the Planet" in 1999.
A proton-exchange membrane, or polymer-electrolyte membrane (PEM), is a semipermeable membrane generally made from ionomers and designed to conduct protons while acting as an electronic insulator and reactant barrier, e.g. to oxygen and hydrogen gas. This is their essential function when incorporated into a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell or of a proton-exchange membrane electrolyser: separation of reactants and transport of protons while blocking a direct electronic pathway through the membrane.
The California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) is a public-private partnership to promote hydrogen vehicles (including cars and buses) in California. It is notable as one of the first initiatives for that purpose undertaken in the United States. The challenge is which come first, hydrogen cars or filling stations.
The F-Cell is a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle developed by Daimler AG. Two different versions are known - the previous version was based on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and the new model is based on the Mercedes-Benz B-Class. The first generation F-Cell was introduced in 2002, and had a range of 100 mi (161 km), with a top speed of 82 mph (132 km/h). The current B-Class F-CELL has a more powerful electric motor rated at 100 kW (134 hp), and a range of about 250 mi (402 km). This improvement in range is due in part to the B-Class's greater space for holding tanks of compressed hydrogen, higher storage pressure, as well as fuel cell technology advances. Both cars have made use of a "sandwich" design concept, aimed at maximizing room for both passengers and the propulsion components. The fuel cell is a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), designed by the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (AFCC) Corporation.
Metal hydride fuel cells are a subclass of alkaline fuel cells that have been under research and development, as well as scaled up successfully in operating systems. A notable feature is their ability to chemically bond and store hydrogen within the fuel cell itself.
WEG S.A. is a Brazilian company operating worldwide in the electric engineering, power and automation technology areas, headquartered in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. The company produces electric motors, generators, alternators, transformers, turbines, BESS, drives, coatings, and provides industrial automation services, among other products and integrated solutions related to electric systems.
Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell (RMFC) or Indirect Methanol Fuel Cell (IMFC) systems are a subcategory of proton-exchange fuel cells where, the fuel, methanol (CH3OH), is reformed, before being fed into the fuel cell.
Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (AFCC) was a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, based automotive fuel cell technology company. The company was formed on February 1, 2008 as a spin-off from its predecessor, Ballard Power Systems to allow for further expansion of fuel cell technology. After the split, Ballard continued as a publicly traded company focusing on non-automotive applications, while AFCC became a privately held company of 150 employees, developing hydrogen fuel cell stacks for automobiles. AFCC's initial ownership split was Daimler (50.1%), Ford Motor Company (30.0%), and Ballard itself (19.9%).
A fuel cell bus is a bus that uses a hydrogen fuel cell as its power source for electrically driven wheels, sometimes augmented in a hybrid fashion with batteries or a supercapacitor. The only emission from the bus is water. Several cities around the world have trialled and tested fuel cell buses, with over 5,600 buses in use worldwide, the majority of which are in China.
Weichai Power Co., Ltd. is a Chinese developer and manufacturer of diesel engines in Weifang, Shandong in the People's Republic of China. It also manufactures forklifts and non-diesel engine automotive parts.
Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies is a manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells based in Singapore. Founded in 2003, the company manufactures micro-size to multi-kilowatt scale (PEM) proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Additionally, it uses hydrogen storage and production methods, including hydrolysis, electrolysis and steam reforming.
Intelligent Energy is a fuel cell engineering business focused on the development, manufacture and commercialisation of its proton-exchange membrane fuel cell technologies for a range of markets including automotive, stationary power, materials handling equipment and UAVs. Headquartered in the UK with representation in the US, Japan, South Korea, and China.
Hydrogenics is a developer and manufacturer of hydrogen generation and fuel cell products based on water electrolysis and proton-exchange membrane (PEM) technology. Hydrogenics is divided into two business units: OnSite Generation and Power Systems. Onsite Generation is headquartered in Oevel, Belgium and had 73 full-time employees as of December 2013. Power Systems is based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, with a satellite facility in Gladbeck, Germany. It had 62 full-time employees as of December 2013. Hydrogenics maintains operations in Belgium, Canada and Germany with satellite offices in the United States, Indonesia, Malaysia and Russia.
The Toyota Sora is a transit bus with an electric motor powered by hydrogen fuel cells produced by Toyota, developed in cooperation with Hino Motors. The bus uses components originally developed for the Toyota Mirai, a mid-size fuel cell sedan. The name Sora is an abbreviation of the words Sky, Ocean, River and Air and refers to the water cycle.
High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFC), also known as High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells, are a type of PEM fuel cells which can be operated at temperatures between 120 and 200°C. HT-PEM fuel cells are used for both stationary and portable applications. The HT-PEM fuel cell is usually supplied with hydrogen-rich gas like reformate gas formed by reforming of methanol, ethanol, natural gas or LPG.
