Fuel Cell History


The fuel cell can trace its roots back to the 1800's. A Welsh born, Oxford educated barrister, who practiced patent law and also studied chemistry or "natural science" as it was known at the time, named Sir William Robert Grove realized that if electrolysis, using electricity, could split water into hydrogen and oxygen then the opposite would also be true. Combining hydrogen and oxygen, with the correct method, would produce electricity. To test his reasoning, Sir William Robert Grove built a device that would combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, the world's first gas battery, later renamed the fuel cell. His invention was a success, and Grove's work advanced the understanding of the idea of conservation of energy and reversibility. Interest in Grove's "gas battery" diminished as the dawn of cheap fossil fuels approached and the soon to be discovered steam engine captivated the present day society.

Fast-forwarding to the 1960's, a new government agency was about to undertake the first step in maturing fuel cell technology. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was developing the mission critical systems for the first prolonged manned flight into space. Once in space, the orbiter needed a source of electricity. Batteries were ruled out due to the size, weight and toxicity necessary to support a mission of eight days in space. Photovoltaics were not practical, at the time, due to the size and weight of the solar panels necessary. The once obscure fuel cell became the technological solution to NASA's dilemma of how to provide power for extended missions to space. The earlier problems of cost and fuel supplies that plagued fuel cells became irrelevant as the spacecraft was already carrying liquid hydrogen and oxygen. An additional benefit of fuel cells over other technology was that the astronauts could consume the fuel cell's water by-product. On the early missions powered by fuel cells, there were problems with the systems that required attention. On each subsequent mission the fuel cells became increasingly reliable and today NASA's space shuttle relies on fuel cells for electricity and drinking water once in orbit.

NASA and the space program provided fuel cells with the initial research and development the technology required. Since their adoption by the space program, fuel cell technology has achieved widespread recognition by industry and government as a clean energy source for the future. With this in mind, the amount of interest in fuel cells has expanded exponentially to where 8 of the 10 largest companies in the world are involved with fuel cells in some respect. Today, billions of dollars have been spent on research and the commercialization of fuel cell products. Over the next couple of years, the products that have been in the commercialization process will begin to be available to consumers.