FUEL CELL

Hydrogen + Oxygen = Electricity + Water Vapor

 

 
Cathode: O₂ + 4H⁺ + 4e^- → 2H₂O
Anode: 2H₂ → 4H⁺ + 4e^-
Overall: 2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O

A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical potential energy (energy stored in molecular bonds) into electrical energy. A PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) cell uses hydrogen gas (H₂) and oxygen gas (O₂) as fuel. The products of the reaction in the cell are water, electricity, and heat. This is a big improvement over internal combustion engines, coal burning power plants, and nuclear power plants, all of which produce harmful by-products.

Since O₂ is readily available in the atmosphere, we only need to supply the fuel cell with H₂ which can come from an electrolysis process (see Alkaline electrolysis or PEM electrolysis).

There are four basic elements of a PEM Fuel Cell:

The anode, the negative post of the fuel cell, has several jobs. It conducts the electrons that are freed from the hydrogen molecules so that they can be used in an external circuit. It has channels etched into it that disperse the hydrogen gas equally over the surface of the catalyst.

The cathode, the positive post of the fuel cell, has channels etched into it that distribute the oxygen to the surface of the catalyst. It also conducts the electrons back from the external circuit to the catalyst, where they can recombine with the hydrogen ions and oxygen to form water.

The electrolyte is the proton exchange membrane. This specially treated material, which looks something like ordinary kitchen plastic wrap, only conducts positively charged ions. The membrane blocks electrons. For a PEMFC, the membrane must be hydrated in order to function and remain stable.

The catalyst is a special material that facilitates the reaction of oxygen and hydrogen. It is usually made of platinum nanoparticles very thinly coated onto carbon paper or cloth. The catalyst is rough and porous so that the maximum surface area of the platinum can be exposed to the hydrogen or oxygen. The platinum-coated side of the catalyst faces the PEM.

 

As the name implies, the heart of the cell is the proton exchange membrane. It allows protons to pass through it virtually unimpeded, while electrons are blocked. So, when the H₂ hits the catalyst and splits into protons and electrons (remember, a proton is the same as an H+ ion) the protons go directly through to the cathode side, while the electrons are forced to travel through an external circuit. Along the way they perform useful work, like lighting a bulb or driving a motor, before combining with the protons and O₂ on the other side to produce water.

How does it work? Pressurized hydrogen gas (H₂) entering the fuel cell on the anode side. This gas i­s forced through the catalyst by the pressure. When an H₂ molecule comes in contact with the platinum on the catalyst, it splits into two H+ ions and two electrons (e-). The electrons are conducted through the anode, where they make their way through the external circuit (doing useful work such as turning a motor) and return to the cathode side of the fuel cell.

Meanwhile, on the cathode side of the fuel cell, oxygen gas (O₂) is being forced through the catalyst, where it forms two oxygen atoms. Each of these atoms has a strong negative charge. This negative charge attracts the two H+ ions through the membrane, where they combine with an oxygen atom and two of the electrons from the external circuit to form a water molecule (H₂O).

All these reaction occurs in a so called cell stack. The expertise then also involves the setup of a complete system around core component that is the cell stack.

The stack will be embedded in a module including fuel, water and air management, coolant control hardware and software. This module will then be integrated in a complete system to be used in different applications.

Due to the high energetic content of hydrogen and high efficiency of fuel cells (55%), this great technology can be used in many applications like transport (cars, buses, forklifts, etc)  and backup power to produce electricity during a failure of the electricity grid.

Advantages of this technology:

• By converting chemical potential energy directly into electrical energy, fuel cells avoid the "thermal bottleneck" (a consequence of the 2^nd law of thermodynamics) and are thus inherently more efficient than combustion engines, which must first convert chemical potential energy into heat, and then mechanical work.
• Direct emissions from a fuel cell vehicle are just water and a little heat. This is a huge improvement over the internal combustion engine's litany of greenhouse gases.
• Fuel cells have no moving parts. They are thus much more reliable than traditional engines.
• Hydrogen can be produced in an environmentally friendly manner, while oil extraction and refining is very damaging.