Fuel Cell Technology

The microfuel cell could solve many of the problems relating to the transportation energy crisis. Everyone is excited about fuel cells, but most of the discussion is about when they will appear in the cars we drive. What most people don’t realize is that the first uses for fuel cells of any size will not be in vehicles, but will be in the small hand held devices used around the world: cell phones, digital cameras, laptop computers and other small portable devices. Conventional batteries are rapidly becoming inadequate to meet the power demands of portable electronic devices. To address this growing problem, researchers are focusing on developing microfuel cells.

What Are Fuel Cells?

Larger fuel cells have traditionally been developed for powering vehicles as an alternative to gas propulsion. As was briefly discussed above, our energy needs are not limited to vehicles only. Smaller, battery operated items need effective, clean alternatives to batteries, which allow them to run longer and better without sacrificing performance. Microfuels cells are ideal as power components for electronic devices.

A fuel cell is a device in which hydrogen and oxygen are converted into water, producing electricity and heat in the process. It is similar to a battery in that can be recharged while drawing power from it. Whereas batteries use electricity to recharge, fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen. An important difference is that batteries store energy, while fuel cells produce energy. In a fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen are electrochemically combined rather than consumed as in a battery. Methanol is the most commonly used fuel to produce hydrogen inside a fuel cell because it produces a lot of power at low cost, and is easy to handle and distribute.

About 400 million portable devices such as cellphones, laptops, and digital cameras are sold each year to a growing market of consumers. The first micro fuel cells were developed as replacements for conventional cell phone battery packs. The trend is toward adding more energy thirsty features to these devices, from color screens to more memory, and toward multi-purpose devices like cell phones that double as digital cameras. Current battery technologies can’t satisfy this energy demand. Devices are also getting smaller, making it doubly challenging to find room for a battery. In addition, there is a problem of landfill issues for degrading batteries, such as toxic residues.

Looking Toward The Future

Eventually, microfuel cells could replace the standard car battery. Although developers are concerned at this time that the costs of microfuel cells in automobiles may be prohibitive. However, as the technology is refined, replacing the battery could eventually be made more economical. Microfuel cells, as with larger fuel cells, are created to burn hydrogen rather than gasoline which is more environmentally friendly. Currently, the microfuel cell industry is working toward developing technologies that will permit the microfuel cell to replace internal combustion engines. The makes microfuel cells a good, but future, alternative energy source.