Do Fuel Cells Have a Future?
August 23, 2014Fuel cells are becoming more common throughout the world in various industries. These energy systems are being praised for their ability to produce large amounts of electrical power but do so without also producing harmful emissions. They are ideal for industrial purposes, especially as an in-door energy provider, and are becoming more prominent in the residential and transportation sectors. Despite their growing popularity, fuel cells face an uncertain future.
While fuel cells are effective energy providers, they are also faced with many challenges that may put their future in jeopardy if not resolved. One of the most significant of these challenges have to do with their cost. Fuel cells are notoriously expensive. Most of the conventional types of these energy systems make use of a catalyst comprised of platinum. This platinum, along with other expensive materials, contributed to the high cost of fuel cell systems. In some cases, the upfront cost of these energy systems can be so high that they are not viable for certain purposes.
Another problem, and one that pertains primarily to transportation, is the lack of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure. Not all fuel cells use hydrogen to produce electrical power, but these types of cells are used in the auto industry to power a new generation of clean vehicles. Many automakers are promoting these vehicles heavily, but without a fuel infrastructure in place to support them these vehicles are not likely to find any success.
Whether fuel cells have a future is difficult to say for certain. In the past, promising technologies have fallen into obsolescence before rising to prominence because a better alternative was found. This may not be the case with fuel cells, however, as they have become the subject of extensive research in the clean technology and energy fields. This research has lead to significant breakthroughs in fuel cell technology, making these energy systems significantly less expensive and more efficient than they had been in the past. If researchers can continue to find ways to improve fuel cells, and then commercialize these breakthroughs, these energy systems may have a very bright future ahead of them.
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This article informs the hard challenges of the industry to the uninformed community. I’m a Hydrogen Fuel Cell R&D company, let me address the first challenge. The astronomical cost due to Platinum is going to be yesterdays news, currently at a University in Texas, Stanford University in California, and a privateer in Germany already have variations of substitutes which the use of Platinum is being reduced by 90%, pretty soon it will be available to the industry. The second challenge, the lack of infrastructure, is looked at as an opportunity. The industry will thrive without the infrastructure growing, there a thousands of vehicles with FCV technology never needing to pull into a gas station. Just as you can plug your Electrical Vehicle at home, anyone can do what Walmart is currently doing, obtaining Hydrogen from Natural Gas at the retail store location or in the vehicle owners case, tapping into your Natural Gas line to a small machine providing the Hydrogen (similar to the electrical upgrade at home to charge EV vehicles, no need to expand the infrastructure