Fuel cells for the home

Fuel cells are currently being intensively developed as they have the potential to provide power in a relatively nonpolluting fashion. Legislation in the United States requires that a percentage of all new vehicles should emit no hydrocarbons or oxides of nitrogen (so-called zero emission vehicle. The current internal combustion engine cannot meet such stringent demands and so alternatives have to be found. The main contenders are electric cars which run on either batteries or fuel cells, or a combination of the two. Current developments now include not only fuel-cell-driven buses and cars, but also power sources for homes and factories. Micro-fuel cells for mobile phones and laptops have been developed. 

On the other hand, in fuel cell applications, the H2 generator (reformer) is often tied to the demand for electricity or hot water and therefore operation at night is often not required. These systems may shut down daily (for home systems) or weekly (for small businesses). At night, there is no plant operator available to monitor the proper shutdown and startup conditions. Therefore the catalyst has to be able to withstand repeated water condensation, to ensure fast startup and to respond well to transient conditions due to changing hydrogen demand. 

Historically in the USA, the military has undertaken substantial fuel cell demo programmes, including testing of a number of units for the home. These tests have now been completed and little in the way of residential level testing is currently underway in the USA. 

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