Fuel cells have been promoted as the next technological leap in the area of power production. This technology offers the potential to replace traditional combustion-based electric-generating technologies in both mobile and stationary applications. Fuel cells can operate on any hydrogen-rich fuel, whether renewable or fossil. The emissions profile of the technology is very attractive. There are negligible sulfur and nitrogen emissions produced during operation. Fuel cells can offer reliable power for high-tech and high-security facilities. Fuel-cell-powered vehicles will eliminate many of the mobile-sourced air emissions problems that plague urban regions.

While fuel cells do hold much promise for providing clean and reliable power, the fact remains that they are still a developing technology with much room for improvement in both technical performance and cost. Furthermore, fuel cells are not an emissions-free technology. When the hydrogen to fuel them is obtained from fossil fuels, there are still significant carbon emissions. While the United States does not currently impose limits on carbon dioxide emissions (a significant contributor to global climate change), future limits on this pollutant may in fact make other electricity-generating technologies either as attractive or more attractive than fuel cells. In this report, our purpose is to fairly characterize fuel cell technologies. We present the benefits and disadvantages of this technology, the current and future market situation for fuel cells, and sample diffusion curves. We believe that fuel cells will play a significant part in the future distributed generation (DG) portfolio in the United States and worldwide, but will most likely be only one of many technologies that are employed in the generation of clean, efficient electricity and thermal energy.

View full report as a PDF or click to order hard copy.

30 pp., 2004, $18.00, IE041