Fuel Cells have (finally) Arrived!

Fuel Cells have (finally) Arrived! WoW! Who would have thought it would have taken this long?*

I remember very well doing a research term paper on the "Future of Fuel Cells" and making the bold prediction that they would be in widespread use throughout the world in five (5) years. I was partially correct. They were in use on a very "widespread" basis in nearly that time period. Turns out they were used to power the "Lunar Lander" that the Apolo missions took to the moon! That was in 1969 and I wrote the research paper in 1961! They worked out very well and I was sure that would propel the use of fuel cells to new "heights" very soon thereafter!

Wrong. Instead, they almost disappeared from conversation, let alone any serious use, and almost went underground for almost twenty (20) years. Fortunately, there were some very dedicated individuals that kept up the research as best they could with the limited resources available to them.

Then, some viable commercial and industrial and home uses were developed to the point that some private money thru private industry has finally pushed the developement to the point where we are today. So, forty (40+) years from doing my initial research on the subject, it looks like we're right where I thought we were a long time ago! However, now that private industry has become involved, it really is going to become a reality in the very near future!

Toyota has just announced that they will introduce a fuel cell powered car in the year 2002. There are already serious applications in use today where fuel cells are powering homes, commercial buildings, larger industrial buildings and even small power plants. Uses are springing up so fast now it's hard to keep up with them. The private sector will finally propel the use of these alternative energy sources to the point of being in everyday use in so many applications we can't even imagine right now.

For more information on this subject see:

"Fuel Cell Systems Explained" =
Great Book
CLICK HERE
for more info or to order this book

*NOTE: The above pictures show a bus and it's renewable energy power plant, a fuel cell.