Brief History of Fuel Cells

Although fuel cells are considered a modern, leading edge technology. Sir William Robert Grove first demonstrated them in the nineteenth century [9]. Grove built what he called a gas battery in 1839, a device that combined 

The first fuel cell-powered vehicle in the world was the Allis Chalmers 15 kW fuel cell-powered tractor, built in 1959 by a team led by Harry Ihrig. It was powered by an alkaline fuel cell system, and in October 1959, it successfully ploughed a field of alfalfa in West Allis, Wisconsin. After the demonstration, the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company donated the tractor to the Smithsonian. 

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This chapter has presented a brief history of fuel cell evolution, the electrochemical fundamentals of PEM fuel cells, PEM fuel cell concepts and terminology, as well as performance analysis. Its main purpose has been to provide readers with some introductory and background information for a fundamental understanding of fuel cell AC impedance, to facilitate their journey through the next several chapters. 

Alternative cathode catalysts to platinum have been the focus of many researchers over the past four decades. Numerous reviews have been published on various aspects and types of PEM fuel cell cathode catalysts.2,7-21 In this work we review the major classes of non-noble metal ORR catalysts in acidic electrolytes. The techniques used to study the catalysts, a brief history of catalyst development including major breakthroughs, and possible future directions will be discussed. 

This brief history of century-old investigations toward hydrogen interaction with solid materials and nanomaterials brings us to the current state of affairs when the hydrogen storage for fuel cell systems still remains to be solved. Indeed, in the first decade of the new Millennium, and at the advent of the Hydrogen Economy, fuel cell stacks for use in mass transportation, like those developed by Ballard Power Systems based in Canada, are ready for mass commercialization. Also, hydrogen... 

This chapter deals with CS or its derivatives as a membrane material in the field of membrane technology. This covers the brief history of membranes, qualities of CS as a good membrane material, methods to prepare CS-based membranes, cross-linking agents and its effects, and modification of CS and its applications in the various fields like wastewater purification, pervaporation, fuel cells, and hemodialysis. 

Brief History of the Most Prominent Carbon Materials Applied in Fuel Cell Research... 

Chapter 1 presents a global perspective of the field of fuel cells so that the reader can grasp the practical significance and potential applications of the fuel cells they are about to study. The chapter presents a brief history of various types of fuel cell development (many people are unaware that actual fuel cell products have been developed and in use for years now), the basic functions of a fuel cell, and attempts to place the field in proper context... 

Abstract Although fuel cells have been known for over 150 years, research on solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) based on an oxide ion conducting electrolyte only accelerated in the last 30 years. This chapter, after a brief history of SOFCs, reviews the materials for different cell components (electrolyte and the two electrodes) and cell stacks (seals and interconnects) novel materials and their structures have been investigated and developed to improve electrochemical performance. Different SOFC designs and their relative advantages and disadvantages are then discussed. Finally, various applications of SOFC power systems and the status of their demonstration and commercialization are reviewed. 

Electrocatalysis of Oxygen Reduction in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells A Brief History and a Critical Examination of Present Theory and Diagnostics... 

This introductory chapter provides a brief outline and history of the PEFC technology, and important requirements and aspects in the development of polymer membranes for fuel cells. To obtain materials that meet specific requirements, the relationship of composition/structure and the properties has to be estabUshed. For the preparation of the membrane electrode assembly, it is important to understand the interfacial properties between membrane and electrodes. 

Gottesfeld, S. Electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction in polymer electrolyte fuel-cells A brief history and a critical examination of present theory and diagnostics. Chapter 1 in M. Koper (ed) Fuel-cell catalysis, a surface science approach. Wiley, NJ, 2009, pp. 1-30. 

Although a brief summary of the history of these systems is given here, detailed historical summaries of the various fuel cell technology development can be found in many resources. 

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