A great overview of the way Fuel Cells work, why they are an important part of the clean energy future and how Direct Fuel Cells are providing baseload power for stationary power plants.  This group's solutions have generated over 180 Million killowatt hours for customers.

Produced By:  Fuel Cell Energy, Inc.

Author:  Anthony Leo, VP of OEM and Application Engineering

Original Publish Date:  April 2008

Based on stakeholder interview findings this paper explores the opportunities and barriers to the
development of stationary fuel cell technology in the UK. Stationary fuel cells offer a significant way
forward towards sustainable energy but there is still a long way to go, at a technical and non-technical
level, before they become an established, mainstream technology. Technically there is a need to
extend the knowledge base for fuel cells, to improve their efficiencies, reliability, lifetime and material
performances. Several issues also surround the sustainable production and storage of hydrogen and
the development of a hydrogen infrastructure. Non-technical issues include cost, education and
training, regulatory barriers, government commitment and issues surrounding the future of energy
distribution.

Fuel cells are often perceived as being part of the future solution to the 'energy crisis', providing
'clean' electricity with virtually no emissions. The development of fuel cells is considered to be an
integral part of a sustainable ‘hydrogen economy’, in which hydrogen gas is produced using
renewable sources of energy, and which offers the possibility of abundant energy with negligible
emissions. However, hydrogen does not occur naturally but has to be produced, usually by the
reformation of hydrocarbons or electrolysed from water. Currently fuel cells are nearly always fuelled
by natural gas or by hydrogen produced from natural gas and therefore, in terms of climate change,
still have significant impacts on the environment.

This paper explores whether the stationary fuel cell is one of the technologies that will lead us to the
cleaner production of energy despite the question mark over some of their environmental benefits and
their financial cost. In particular we examine the current technology and environmental benefits of
combined heat and power (CHP) fuel cells.

Prepared By: Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE)

Authors: Powell, J.C., Peters, M.D.,Ruddell, A. & Halliday, J

Original Publish Date: March 2004