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  Fuel Cell Basics Through this website we are seeking historical materials relating to fuel cells. We have constructed the site to gather information from people already familiar with the technology–people such as inventors, researchers, manufacturers, electricians, and marketers. This Basics section presents a general overview of fuel cells for casual visitors. What is a fuel cell? How do fuel cells work? Why can’t I go out and buy a fuel cell? Different types of fuel cells.     What is a fuel cell? A fuel cell is a device that generates electricity by a chemical reaction. Every fuel cell has two electrodes, one positive and one negative, called, respectively, the anode and cathode. The reactions that produce electricity take place at the electrodes.

in general terms, hydrogen atoms enter a fuel cell at the anode where a chemical reaction strips them of their electrons. The hydrogen atoms are now “ionized,” and carry a positive electrical charge. The negatively charged electrons provide the current through wires to do work. If alternating current (AC) is needed, the DC output of the fuel cell must be routed through a conversion device called an inverter.

Oxygen enters the fuel cell at the cathode and, in some cell types (like the one illustrated above), it there combines with electrons returning from the electrical circuit and hydrogen ions that have traveled through the electrolyte from the anode. In other cell types the oxygen picks up electrons and then travels through the electrolyte to the anode, where it combines with hydrogen ions.

The U.S. consumes a little more than 20 million barrels of oil a day. The largest end uses are motor gasoline (9 million barrels) and diesel (4 million barrels). That works out to about 140 billion gallons of gasoline and 60 billion gallons of diesel a year. In 2006, the U.S. consumed nearly 5.4 billion gallons of ethanol, 12 percent of which was imported. Adjusting for its lower energy content, that amounted to about 2.5% of the total U.S. demand for gasoline. Biodiesel consumption was much lower, about 250 million gallons in 2006.

The U.S. consumes a little more than 20 million barrels of oil a day. The largest end uses are motor gasoline (9 million barrels) and diesel (4 million barrels). That works out to about 140 billion gallons of gasoline and 60 billion gallons of diesel a year. In 2006, the U.S. consumed nearly 5.4 billion gallons of ethanol, 12 percent of which was imported. Adjusting for its lower energy content, that amounted to about 2.5% of the total U.S. demand for gasoline. Biodiesel consumption was much lower, about 250 million gallons in 2006. In the Energy

The U.S. consumes a little more than 20 million barrels of oil a day. The largest end uses are motor gasoline (9 million barrels) and diesel (4 million barrels). That works out to about 140 billion gallons of gasoline and 60 billion gallons of diesel a year. In 2006, the U.S. consumed nearly 5.4 billion gallons of ethanol, 12 percent of which was imported. Adjusting for its lower energy content, that amounted to about 2.5% of the total U.S. demand for gasoline. Biodiesel consumption was much lower, about 250 million gallons in 2006. In the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress enacted the Renewable Fuels Standard, which requires an annual increase in biofuels use to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012. The chart above details past levels of U.S. ethanol production and the minimum levels set by the Renewable Fuels Standard. In the 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush announced a goal of replacing “more than 75% of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025.” According to the Department of Energy, meeting that goal will require 60 billion gallons of biofuels a year. A year later, the President accelerated the timetable and called for “20 in 10.”

Increased biofuel demand has contributed to higher world food and feed prices.

Global biofuel production has tripled from 4.8 billion gallons in 2000 to about 16.0 billion in 2007, but still accounts for less than 3 percent of the global transportation fuel supply.

Cellulosic ethanol could raise per acre ethanol yields to more than 1,000 gallons, significantly reducing land requirements. Cellulosic ethanol is made by breaking down the tough cellular material that gives plants rigidity and structure and converting the resulting sugar into ethanol. Cellulose is the world’s most widely available biological material, present in such low-value materials as wood chips and wood waste, fast-growing grasses, crop residues like corn stover, and municipal waste.

Major changes will be needed to grow, handle, transport and store the immense quantities of biomass -- mostly lignocellulosic feedstocks such as switchgrass, crop residues and forest wastes -- necessary to continually feed electric power generation stations and produce biofuels for transportation,

converting to a system in which biomass provides much of the country's energy will require new ways of thinking about agriculture, energy infrastructure and rural economic development.

Ocean waves are a tertiary form of solar energy, in that unequal heating of the Earth’s surface generates wind, and wind blowing over water generates waves. Despite the fact that nearly 75% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, waves are a largely unexplored source of energy, compared with the progress that has been made in harnessing the sun and wind.

What is wave energy? Waves are generated by the passage of wind across the surface of the sea.  Energy is transferred from the wind to the waves.  Waves travel vast distances across the ocean and at great speed and the energy is concentrated near the water surface.  The energy within a wave is proportional to the square of the wave height.  Therefore a two-meter high wave has four times the power of a one-meter high wave. The longer and stronger the wind blows over the surface of the sea, the higher, longer, faster and more powerful the sea is.

Although wave energy is a form of concentrated wind energy, as it has often travelled over large distances it is regularly out of phase with the local wind conditions.  Wave energy can therefore help to balance output variability from other renewable sources and maximise the efficient use of the electricity networks.   Wave energy is also more predictable than many other forms of renewable energy, such as wind or solar, and can be forecast accurately up to five days in advance.

Wave energy is clean and renewable!  It is one of the last renewable energy forms which mankind has yet to harness, and its potential is huge.

Day and night, the vast waters of the ocean press and recede along the shorelines of Earth’s every continent in accordance to the celestial movements of our planet in relation to the sun and the moon

Although fuel cells are more expensive than fossil fuels, it is predicted that in the near future, fuel cell power will be less expensive and more efficient. The cost is an enticing advantage for the future.

The only emission is water vapor, a lot environment-friendly than the toxic elements released into the air by burning fossil fuels and gasoline burning cars.

The only waste product is water vapor.

One of the most important is that wind power is the least expensive of all other forms of alternative energy.

Another tremendous benefit of wind power is that it is a sustainable source of energy and a clean source of energy

As with installing your own solar energy, installing wind energy will help to reduce carbon emissions, which damage the environment and will save money.

It's only downfall is possibly the visual impact it makes on the landscape: A tall 'small scale' generator could attract wide rebuttal from neighbours, and this is worth considering before embarking on a wind generation project. However, if you live in a remote area, which benefits from exposure to the wind, or have neighbours that are happy for you to go ahead with the project, installing wind power can be an economically viable way to capitalise on natural, renewable resources

A wind generator will cost in the region of £3'000 - £15'000, at about £3'000 per kilowatt.

just over 843,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity were provided by solar power. The vast majority of that, more than 666,500 kWh, were produced in California. Roughly 14 percent of the total renewable energy generated in the U.S. in 2008 was solar energy. And remember that these numbers continue to grow each year. The solar industry has been growing on an average of 30-40 percent each year, And as the industry grows, so will the amount of clean, renewable power it puts out. Interested in Home Solar Energy? Fill in your details below And certified solar contractors will give you FREE estimates. What type of Solar Energy services are you interested in? * Please Select Solar Electrical Solar Thermal First Name * Last Name * Zipcode *

The EIA states that just over 843,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity were provided by solar power. The vast majority of that, more than 666,500 kWh, were produced in California. Roughly 14 percent of the total renewable energy generated in the U.S. in 2008 was solar energy. And remember that these numbers continue to grow each year. The solar industry has been growing on an average of 30-40 percent each year, And as the industry grows, so will the amount of clean, renewable power it puts out.

Table 1: Levelized cost of capital electricityInitial Capital InvestmentCost of Power (cents/kWh)*$2400 per KW3.99 - 5.76$2900 per KW4.40 – 6.54$3400 per KW4.81 – 7.33 

A price on carbon, such as that which would exist under a GHG cap-and-trade program, would raise the cost of electricity produced from fossil fuels relative to the cost of electricity from renewable sources, such as geothermal energy, and other lower-carbon technologies.

The report finds that in 2011, roughly 6,800 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity was added to the U.S. grid, a 31 percent increase from 2010 installations.  The United States’ wind power capacity reached 47,000 MW by the end of 2011 and has since grown to 50,000 MW, enough electricity to power 13 million homes annually or as many as in Nevada, Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, Alabama, and Connecticut combined. The country’s cumulative installed wind energy capacity grew 16 percent from 2010, and has increased more than18-fold since 2000.  The report also finds that six states now meet more than 10 percent of their total electricity needs with wind power.

Biofuels have the potential to be significantly less expensive than gasoline and other fossil fuels. This is particularly true as worldwide demand for oil increases, oil supplies dwindle, and more sources of biofuels become apparent.

Tidal energy is most sustainable and beneficial as a tool in a larger tool belt of renewable energy sources needed to meet our energy demands.

Because solar electricity is so expensive, you would normally go to great lengths to reduce your electricity consumption. Instead of a desktop computer and a monitor you would use a laptop computer. You would use fluorescent lights instead of incandescent. You would use a small B&W TV instead of a large color set. You would get a small, extremely efficient refrigerator­. By doing these things you might be able to reduce your average power consumption to 100 watts. This would cut the size of your solar panel and its cost by a factor of 6, and this might bring it into the realm of possibility.

From our calculations and assumptions abo­ve, we know that a solar panel can generate 70 milliwatts per square inch * 5 hours = 350 milliwatt hours per day. Therefore you need about 41,000 square inches of solar panel for the house. That's a solar panel that measures about 285 square feet (about 26 square meters). That would cost around $16,000 right now. Then, because the sun only shines part of the time, you would need to purchase a battery bank, an inverter, etc., and that often doubles the cost of the installation.If you want to have a small room air conditioner in your bedroom, double everything.

A "typical home" in America can use either electricity or gas to provide heat -- heat for the house, the hot water, the clothes dryer and the stove/oven. If you were to power a house with solar electricity, you would certainly use gas appliances because solar electricity is so expensive. This means that what you would be powering with solar electricity are things like the refrigerator, the lights, the compute­r, the TV, stereo equipment, motors in things like furnace fans and the washer, etc. Let's say that all of those things average out to 600 watts on average. Over the course of 24 hours, you need 600 watts * 24 hours = 14,400 watt-hours per day.

As of October 2009, Fortune magazine estimated the cost of producing the Honda Clarity at $300,000 per car

by 2010, the Department of Energy estimated that the cost had fallen 80% and that such fuel cells could be manufactured for $51/kW,

When compared to ICE vehicles using gasoline, however, fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen produced from natural gas reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60%