Applications for Fuel Cells

Transportation

Fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) are achieving energy efficiencies of 40 to 50 percent. In the future this improvement may lead to more U.S. energy security and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Fuel cells have other benefits that today’s car engines cannot match. They can generate pollution-free electricity while the car is parked, help power a home, or sell surplus energy back to the electric grid.

Personal vehicles

Fuel-cell vehicles are electric vehicles that do not have to recharge. They run on hydrogen or on a hydrogen-bearing fuel such as gasoline or natural gas. Instead of being burned, the fuel is sent to a reformer and the separated hydrogen is fed into the fuel-cell stack. The fuel cell then produces electricity, which is stored in batteries or used directly by an electric motor.