Applications for Fuel Cells

The potential apphcations for fuel cells are very broad. They cover a range of power from a pW (e.g. for hearing aids) to a MW, for grid-connected electricity production. 

As yet, none of these applications has experienced mass commercial success, although some of them occupy niche markets, such as APUs (Auxiliary Power Units), which are able to replace diesel electrogen groups, for instance. 

In a lower power range, power supply to nomadic devices (laptops, smartphones, cellphones, etc.) currently served by Li-ion accumulator batteries, is a very competitive mass market. The advantage of PEMFCs is how quickly they can be 

Certain biomedical applications such as hearing aids, heart valves, etc. use micropower, and in this case autonomy is a cmcial point of argument. Could this domain represent a long-term field of application for fuel cells  

As outlined in Section 6.2, there are many potential applications for fuel cells. Some of these are specialized and therefore do not command large markets, e.g., spacecraft, submarine traction. Prospective mass markets fall into four broad categories, as follows. 

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Stationary power is the most mature application for fuel cells. Stationary fuel cell units are used for backup power, power for remote locations, stand-alone power plants for towns and cities, distributed generation for buildings, and cogeneration where excess thermal energy from electricity generation is used for heat. 

Today s rapidly increasing activities on hydrogen focus mostly on vehicle applications and less on stationary applications. For fuel cells, stationary applications are also relevant, but natural gas will be the dominant fuel here. The dominance of the transport sector is also reflected in the hydrogen roadmaps developed, among others, in the EU, the USA, Japan, or at an international level. Whereas in the beginning, onsite or decentralised production options based on fossil fuels or electricity are seen as the major option for hydrogen production, later on central production options will dominate the market. Here, several options could play a role, from coal, with carbon capture and sequestration, through natural gas and renewables (wind, biomass) to nuclear. A C02-free or lean vision can be identified in every roadmap. The cost... 

The major applications for fuel cells are as stationary electric power plants, including cogeneration units as motive power for vehicles and as on-board electric power for space vehicles or other closed environments. Derivative applications will be summarized. 

Another important area is the use auxiliary power systems (AFU), which are expected to be one of the first niche applications for fuel cells in the transport area. Auxiliary power today represents a significant portion of the power needs for transportation. Developments of AFUs may also have an impact in the stationary area. 

February 2003 Review of UK Fuel Cell Commercial Potential - this study provided an assessment of the main applications for fuel cells, the drivers for fuel cells in these areas and the fuel cell technologies likely to be chosen. The UK was assessed both as a potential market for fuel cells and as a supply base, with its strengths and weaknesses used as a basis for identifying key opportunities. 

Another important potential application for fuel cells is in transportation (qv). Buses and cars powered by fuel cells or fuel cell—battery hybrids are being developed in North America and in Europe to meet zero-emission legislation introduced in California. The most promising type of fuel cell for this application is the SPFC, which uses platinum-on-carbon electrodes attached to a solid polymeric electrolyte. 

Aluminum Batteries Chemical Thermodynamics Electrochemistry Fuel Cells, Applications in Stationary Power Systems Kinetics (Chemistry) Transportation Applications for Fuel Cells... 

One potential application for fuel cells is as an alternative power source for automobiles. However, as the Chemistry and Technology feature at the end of this chapter explains, scientists must resolve some fundamental challenges before fuel cells power the cars we drive. 

Other possible applications for fuel cells in vehicles are in boats, trains and aeroplanes (Hawkins and Hughes, 2006, pp. 22-23), and they may spur the development of fuel cells, but they have received much less attention than FCVs for road transport. 

Successful adoption of fuel cells in transportation applications over the long-term could create markets on the order of ten million vehicles, leading to significant pressure on PGM suppliers to increase production capacity and supply. Consideration of stationary and portable applications for fuel cells further increases the demands on PGM supplies. Clearly, the combination of stationary, portable and transportation markets for fuel cells will create pressure on the PGM industry to increase supplies and might cause rapidly escalating prices (thereby threatening fuel cell market viability) unless action is taken to guide the process. 

Screening criteria were used to narrow the initial market analysis of possible APU applications for fuel cells ... 

The major applications for fuel cell systems are described in Section 8.1.7. 

Vans or light duty transport vehicle are like busses an optimal application for fuel cell powertrain. The utilization profile of such vehicles for example for city delivery leads to an advantage in the infrastructure. The vehicles can be refueled in a central depot, so that only one local H2 station is required and not a wide spread infrastructure. 

City buses are, both on the standard length of 12 m (example as depicted in Fig. 4.17) as well as the articulated buses with a length of 18 m, an optimal application for fuel cell technology. The advantages of the fuel cell technology applied to urban busses are the zero exhaust emissions and the very low noise emissions. These two attributes are very positively evaluated during several surveys of bus operators, bus users and general population. 

Other applications for fuel cells have been identified and development continues today, an important one being to provide an alternative and economically competitive source of electrical energy to meet the projected demand through the next decade. United Technologies has expended considerable effort toward this goal, believing that success can only be achieved if commercially available hydrocarbons and air are the reactants in the fuel cell. 

In the past few years, a number of applications for fuel cells have emerged that may enter the market early [161, 162]. This is not a matter of niche appHcations, but as these markets are less price sensitive they are well suited to act as door openers for the broad appHcation of fuel cells. These include ... 

The market for premium power applications for fuel-cell technology is massive. It covers a broad range of applications, globally, and is being created by consumer... 

Comparison of ecological characteristics of fuel cell systems and future competing systems to help decision makers in terms of optimal applications for fuel cells. 

Another key feature of fuel cells is that their performance and cost are less dependent on scale than other power technologies. Small fuel cell plants operate nearly as efficiently as large ones, with equally low emissions, and comparable cost. This opens up applications for fuel cells where conventional power technologies are not practical. In addition, fuel cell systems can be relatively quiet generators. 

Each of these applications for fuel cell models has a specific requirement with respect to the level of detail and rigor in the model and its predictive capability. In many higher level applications, the predictive requirements are modest. In some cases, the operational characteristics of the fuel cell are not even a degree a freedom. In such cases, relatively simple models are satisfactory and appropriate. It is possible to encapsulate the mass and energy balances and performance equations for a fuel cell within a spreadsheet application. Such spreadsheet models are often useful for quick trade-off considerations. 

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