How Fuel Cells Work and How this Affects You.

The U.S. Department of Energy defines a fuel cell as "a device that uses hydrogen (or hydrogen-rich fuel) and oxygen to create electricity by an electrochemical process." Think of a fuel cell system the way you would a battery. Fuel cells can power anything that runs on electricity and produce power at efficiencies far higher than conventional power systems. Fuel cell systems that use pure hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity only generate heat and water as byproducts therefore operating without producing harmful greenhouse gases.

Fuel cell applications include power for vehicles such as cars and buses; electricity for residential and commercial needs; power for small/portable devices such as cell phones, laptops and digital cameras; back-up power systems for cell towers, telecommunications, and other applications, and a variety of military applications.

Since the hydrogen for fuel cells can be produced from a variety of domestic resources, hydrogen fuel cell use will significantly decrease America's dependence on foreign sources of energy and offer a ground breaking economic platform for the United States to become the world leader in fuel cell development and commercialization.