The information on this page was prepared by:
| Curtis Wong | curtiswo@usc.edu | Electrical Engineering |
Conclusion: Problems with PEM and Hydrogen
The implementation of fuel cells as a power source is ideal for the future of energy production. However there are current problems dealing with cost, safety, and infrastructure which inhibit widespread usage. Fuel cells are currently experimental technology, and so each one is built by hand from materials produced in small quantities. Fuel cells currently cost $4,000+ per kilowatt. The price per kilowatt of power generating capacity must fall to between $50 and $100 per kilowatt to be competitive with gasoline. Per unit energy, hydrogen produced electrically costs ten times as much as natural gas and three times as much as petroleum based fuels. In the future, as technology improves and fuel cells are mass-produced in factories, the cost will drop considerably due to economies of scale.
Areas that must be researched in order to improve the cost include lowering cost of materials, especially regarding the catalysts (platinum is too costly). Minimizing the problem caused by temperature constraints and simplification of the manufacturing process would cut down on the costs. Furthermore, fuel cells can be made to obtain more power for the same volume (power density). They need to be flexible in what fuels they can accept because by accepting a wide number of fuels leads to decreased fuel costs and more people will be ready to adapt the fuel cell. Contaminant tolerance, regarding CO and sulfur, would improve the efficiency of the fuel cell reactions. Quest Air Technologies currently markets hydrogen and oxygen purifying products for the anode and cathode.
Hydrogen is difficult to obtain and store fuel cells don’t operate well in cold temperatures. Furthermore, widespread use of hydrogen worries experts because of the bad wrap that the Hindenburg hydrogen balloon faced when it exploded. Vehicles storing compressed hydrogen at values as high as 10,000 psi has the potential for a catastrophe.