1. Fuel Cells By: Rishab Pohane Pranav Subramanian Aayush Verma

2. What is a fuel cell? ●“Electrochemical energy conversion device” ●Converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, heat, and water ●Similar to batteries, but never die o “Gas battery”

3. How does it work? ●Convert chemical energy into electrical energy ●Fuel cells combine the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity (water is also produced) ●The hydrogen is usually in the form of a fuel while the oxygen is taken from the air ●Use electrical energy to do mechanical work ●Provide DC voltage to electrical appliances http://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/images/fc_ani.gif

4. Different Types of Fuel Cells ●Depends on electrolyte that is used. ●Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) ●Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) ●Alkaline fuel cell (AFC) ●Phosphoric acid (PAFC) ●Molten carbonate (MCFC)

5. Different Types of Fuel Cells

6. Applications ●Best used where both heat and power are needed ●Provide electricity and drinking water for the astronauts ●Car engine Toyota MiraiMars Flyer

7. Advantages ●Clean energy (no pollution) ●Relatively simple maintenance o No moving parts ●Very long operating times ●Tolerant of varied temperatures ●Can be placed nearly anywhere ●Higher efficiency than oil or gasoline

8. Comparisons Car TypeChemical Energy => Electrical Energy (% efficient) Electrical Energy => Mechanical Work(% efficient) Other Operations (% efficient) Overall Efficiency (%) Pure Hydrogen Fuel Cell 80 -64 Gasoline Powered 3542-15 Battery Powered 72409030 (can be 65)

9. Disadvantages ●Pure hydrogen works best but gas needs to be enriched ●Large size and weight ●Expensive ●Not very durable ●Hard to maintain hydration ●Infrastructure not available

10. Roadblocks ●Complex chemical process o Some fuel cells require the molecules traveling through the membrane to have full purity o Some fuel cells require pumps ●Energy company opposition ●Not economically viable yet o Not efficient enough to replace conventional methods of generating power

11. Expenses ●$55/kWh

12. Generating Cost ●$500B to create hydrogen infrastructure ●$4.50 per GGe from natural gas ●$6-11per GGe from renewable energy

13. Target Market ●Automobiles ●Factories ●Cities ●Space programs Fuel cell used by NASA’s Space Shuttle Orbiter

14. Future ●America’s oil dependence will continually increase ●Already 1 Billion spent on fuel cell research ●Fuel cell cost has dropped by 50 percent since 2006 ●7.2 M investment plan ●2015 - Fuel cell cars

15. Countries using Fuel Cells INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR THE HYDROGEN ECONOMY ●Australia ●Brazil ●Canada ●China ●European Commission ●France ●Germany ●India ●Italy ●Japan ●Korea ●New Zealand ●Norway ●Russian Federation ●Iceland ●United Kingdom ●United States

16. Payback Period ●3 years ●Relatively large initial cost ●Consumer price for electricity cut using fuel cells ●More power generated than fossil fuel plant

17. Why are fuel cells not common? ●Building fuel cells is not difficult BUT... ●Inexpensive ●Efficient ●Reliable ●.. that’s difficult

18. Fun Fact Elon Musk says cars running on fuel cells are “extremely silly”

19. Sources Cited ●http://www.altenergy.org/renewables/fuel_cells_power.htmlhttp://www.altenergy.org/renewables/fuel_cells_power.html ●http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/fuel-cell.htmhttp://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/fuel-cell.htm ●http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/about-fuel-cells/benefitshttp://www.fuelcelltoday.com/about-fuel-cells/benefits ●http://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/12974/title/fuel-cells-for- clean-generation-and-short-payback.aspxhttp://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/12974/title/fuel-cells-for- clean-generation-and-short-payback.aspx ●http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/01/fuel-cell-economics-vs-batteries/http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/01/fuel-cell-economics-vs-batteries/ ●http://www.economist.com/topics/fuel-cellshttp://www.economist.com/topics/fuel-cells