Abstract
The first alkaline fuel cell (AFC) was built in 1939 by British engineer Francis T. Bacon. In the 1960s, the US company Pratt & Whitney [now part of United Technologies Corporation (UTC)] made a spectacular debut of Bacon’s AFCs in space, which stimulated many companies to start AFC development. By the early 1970s, however, the companies recognized that AFC’s intolerance of carbon dioxide—one of the major disadvantage of AFCs—and the difficulties and high cost of overcoming the problem were an insurmountable barrier for commercialization in terrestrial applications. While many left the field, a few still remain. The UK company AFC Energy is testing AFC technology based on a 30 year developmental effort by Elenco of Belgium at AkzoNobel’s Bitterfield plant in Germany. Meanwhile, the Japanese automaker Daihatsu has started to develop hydrazine-fueled AFC vehicles. Although little information is available, some Russian AFC companies may still remain active.
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