PowerCell showcases hydrogen fuel cell technology to President Obama

President Obama shows interest in Sweden’s hydrogen fuel cell technology

U.S. President Barack Obama recently journeyed to Sweden and requested to study some of the country’s innovative clean technologies. The President has been showing strong interest in renewable energy in recent years, hoping to find ways to reduce the U.S.’ reliance on foreign sources of energy. Much of the support that has been directed at renewable energy comes from numerous research organizations associated with the federal government and the Department of Energy. During the president’s trip to Sweden, he was exposed to the innovative hydrogen fuel cell technology developed by PowerCell.

PowerCell demonstrates capabilities of S1 fuel cell

PowerCell was one of three organizations to demonstrate its clean technology to the U.S. President. The company showcased its S1 fuel cell technology, which has won acclaim in Europe for its high efficiency. The S1 is a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell that is designed to generate electrical power through the use of hydrogen fuel and reformatted gases. The technology behind the S1 has been in development for over 10 years and the fuel cell itself is meant to be lightweight so as to be easily applied in both transportation and stationary purposes.

Fuel cells could make transportation environmentally friendly

During the exhibition, President Obama expressed his enthusiasm for the fuel cell technology from PowerCell. In the U.S., fuel cells are beginning to gain strong momentum in the transportation sector. Because vehicles have long been associated with harmful emissions, the country has been looking for ways to make transportation less environmentally hazardous without sacrificing the performance and convenience of modern vehicles. Hydrogen fuel cells have, thus far, been able to achieve this goal and these energy systems have also won the support of the global auto industry.

US shows support for hydrogen fuel

The demonstration of the S1 fuel cell technology may have helped provide President Obama with more confidence in hydrogen fuel. The U.S. has had a somewhat turbulent history with this form of renewable energy in the past. The Department of Energy had once considered hydrogen fuel cells to be a fantastical technology that could not effectively solve today’s challenges without the support of a miraculous breakthrough in science. The federal agency has since changed its stance on hydrogen fuel and has been supporting fuel cell technology quite aggressively over the past two years.