APC 400kW1MW User Manual download pdf (Page 11)

CHAPTER 2 - Background Information

The background information of fuel cells is important to understand before discussing

their useful applications. In this chapter, the history, operation, and types of fuel cells are

explained.

2.1 History of Fuel Cells

The technology of fuel cells has been around for more than 170 years. William Robert

Grove is credited with making the first fuel cell in 1838. Grove devised a wet-cell battery that

produced 12 amps of current at approximately 1.8 volts. He called them “gas batteries” [4, para

1].

Over fifty years later in 1889, Charles Langer and Ludwig Mond were the first to apply

fuel cell technology to a practical use using air and coal gas. However, further fuel cell

advancements were set aside in the early 1900s with the introduction of the internal combustion

engine [5, para 1].

Francis Bacon developed perhaps the first successful fuel cell in 1939 [5, para 2]. The

fuel cell used nickel electrodes and alkali electrolytes. In 1958, Bacon developed an alkali fuel

cell (AFC) for Britain’s National Research Development Corporation. His fuel cell proved to be

reliable, although very expensive [6, para 4].

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, interest in fuel cells was raised due to the upcoming

manned space flights. NASA needed a way to power the flights, and batteries were considered

too heavy, solar power too expensive, and nuclear power too risky [7, para 6]. With a

sponsorship from NASA for fuel cell technology, the first proton exchange membrane fuel cell

(PEMFC) was developed. From the results of the work of two General Electric (GE) scientists,

Willard Grubb and Leonard Niedrach, GE and NASA developed the PEMFC that was used in

the Gemini space project. This was the first commercial use of a fuel cell [7, para 6].

Later on in the 1960s, Bacon‘s AFC was patented by Pratt and Whitney, an aircraft

engine manufacturer. Bacon’s AFC weighed less and lasted longer than GE’s PEMFC. Pratt

and Whitney improved Bacon’s AFC and contracted with NASA to supply these fuel cells for the

Apollo space flight [7, para 7]. AFCs were used in subsequent manned US space missions

throughout the 1990s. At this time, developments were made on PEMFCs, and they began to

be used again [8, para 7].

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APC 400kW1MW User Manual Page 11