Types of fuel cells and their potential directions of use

Abstract

Fuel cells are not a new technology, but they are gaining in popularity and are being intensively developed. The article presents and characterizes various types of fuel cells that are currently of interest to research and development centers dealing with environmental protection issues. These include: alkaline fuel cell (AFC), phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), including direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The operating parameters of the previously mentioned fuel cells were compared. The principle of operation of a fuel cell was described. The growing interest in devices using hydrogen as a fuel also results from the development of Power to Gas technology (P2G). Furthermore, the article presents the potential directions of development and use of fuel cells in various fields and sectors of the economy. Fuel cells can be used in transport. The characteristic of motor vehicles fleet by fuel type in usage in the European Union was presented. The technical specification of commercially available passenger cars using fuel cells with proton exchange membrane was presented. The possibility of using fuel cells in public transport (buses, trains) was discussed. The possibilities of operation of fuel cells in combined heat and power systems (CHP) were presented. Usage of fuel cell technology in large cogeneration units and micro systems was considered. One of the presented cogeneration systems is a combination of fuel cells with a gas turbine. Another possibility of using fuel cells is energy storage systems (EES). Interesting way of using fuel cells can also be Power to Power systems, which were briefly characterized.