TABLE OF CONTENTS A fuel cell is an electrochemical system that generates electricity by converting chemical energy into electrical energy. In general form, a fuel cell consists of an anode and a cathode separated by an electrolyte, which acts as an ion carrier. An oxidant is fed to the cathode to supply oxygen, while a fuel is fed to the anode to supply hydrogen. When hydrogen is used as fuel, it is electro-oxidised in the anode producing electrons and protons according to Eq. 18.1.
Electrons are transported through an external circuit to the cathode while protons go through the electrolyte. Finally, electrons and protons are recombined together with O 2 in the cathode to give H 2 O (Eq. 18.2).
One of the best known and currently most promising fuel cells is the Proton-Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell (Fig. 18.1), which has been proposed as an automotive power source due to its relatively light weight, low operating temperature (60 -100 C), high power density, relatively quick start-up, and rapid response to varying loads (Mehta et al. 2003). Also PEM fuel cells are considered as alternatives to replace batteries in portable electronic equipment such as laptop computers (Jung et al. 1998), cellular phones (Hockaday et al. 1999), and handheld devices. Significant investment in the fuel cell technology is taking place resulting in...
