1. FUELcells
By
Charu Lakshmi T.R
Roll No:4
Sem III
Materials science

2. Outline
 INTRODUCTION
: Save energy??
 Fuel Cell
: Birth to kingdom
(Types and benefits included)
 The Dark side
: limitations (+a controversy)
 References

3. TRE”fraud”NEY
BEWARE!!
Darker days are near
If this becomes right, her total right
predictions will become three.
Dumbledore might give her a price rise !!

4. Fuel ?? Cell?? Fuel cell??
 Yes, as the name suggests , it is a cell which uses
chemicals as fuel to give DC electricity.
 But it is not a battery to go dead, as long as we
supply fuel it gives us what we want
 Fuel cell gives electricity as well as water and
heat.
 That is why it was used in space shuttles.

5. Fuel cell’s birth
 Sir William Groves is referred to as the
“Father of Fuel Cells”
 But the real credit goes to Alessandro Volta, the
inventor of electric cell
 It all began in 1839.

6. Working of fuel cell

7. Types of it
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEMFC)
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC)
Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC)
Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC)
Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC)

8. Fuel cell on a ride
 Maybe I should say ‘with a ride’

9. Fiction or science ??
Verified performance in 140 fuel cell
vehicles and 20 hydrogen stations:
• EFFICIENCY: 53 – 58% (>2x higher than
gasoline internal combustion engines)
• RANGE: ~196 – 254 miles
• FUEL CELL SYSTEM DURABILITY:
• 1977 hours, projected to 10%
degradation (~59,500 miles)
• 1987 hours, observed, with more than
10% degradation (~59,500 miles)

10. BMW and Toyota jointly announced in January
2013 that they would be sharing a number of
technologies and co-developing a fundamental
fuel cell vehicle platform by 2020 – including not
only a fuel cell system, but also a hydrogen tank,
electric motor and supporting battery system.

11. benefits !!
 Highly reliable and requires minimal maintenance
 Runs on low noise
 Ensure continuous electrical supply
 Much less pollution than fossil-fuel power stations,
especially if run on hydrogen. This means they can be sited
close to population centers, which minimizes transmission
losses. Even when fuelled with natural gas, the higher
efficiency of fuel cells means the amount of carbon dioxide
emitted per kilowatt-hour generated is significantly lower
than conventional power generation

12. there sits the king !!
Even Robert Hooke
who coined the
word cell will be
rudely surprised
!!!

13. YDROGEN ON A
MISSION !!
Hydrogen can be stored in three different ways , as a gas, as liquid, as a
material
The aim is to have high energy density.
Pressure storage : Pressure about 200 bars is to be applied. But car
manufacturers are already using 700-900 bars hydrogen storage, giving an even
higher energy density. However putting hydrogen under such pressure takes a
lot of energy
Liquid storage: When hydrogen is cooled down to -253 degrees Celsius it
becomes liquid giving it a quite high energy density. However it takes a lot of
energy to cool it down. It also takes a lot of technology to store the
hydrogen at such a low temperature. Even with this cooling
technology the hydrogen will still slowly boil off. Typically after 2
weeks most hydrogen will disappear from the tank if not used before
this.

14.  Methanol storage:
Methanol is a liquid alcohol containing
hydrogen.
It has half the energy density of gasoline, but
it is already mass produced today and easy to
distribute.
However methanol is toxic for humans, but
with the right handling this danger can be
controlled. Methanol might be the way
hydrogen will be stored in the future.
Research is being done to create reformers
that can convert the methanol to hydrogen
before entering the fuel cell.

15. FUEL CELL IN STAR bus
Fuel cell bus developed by TATA motors

16. UGLY TRUTH
 Hard to store , too heavy
 Hydrogen can react with metals it’s stored in
and cause leaks
 Extreme Cost but beneficial in the long run
 If pure hydrogen isn’t used , clean low
carbon fuel is needed
 Experts agree that hydrogen can be
unpredictable and it can create explosions
too.
 Daily maintenance is not needed, but stack
replacement is necessary( 5 years)

17. HYDROGEN Controversies
The Hindenburg disaster took
place on Thursday, May 6,
1937, as the German passenger
airship LZ 129 Hindenburg
caught fire
Hugo Eckener argued that the fire
was started by an electric spark
caused by a buildup of static
electricity on the airship. The spark
ignited hydrogen on the outer skin..

18. Challenger challenged to
death
Culprit is hydrogen
This is happened on Jan 28th
1986 in Florida .
This space shuttle got
destroyed within two minutes
of its take off
seven crew members on board
died.

19. REFERENCES
 FUELCELL TODAY
 AKSHAY URJA magazine cover story
: by M R NOUNI
APRIL 2012 volume 5 issue 5

20. Thank you