.

.


.

.

 

Instructions are Available Here
 

Pictures of Real Fuel Cells:

Solid Polymer Fuel Cell

The picture below is of the 275 HP (205kW) fuel cell engine that is being used in buses in Canada and some North American states. It is produced by Ballard Power Systems Inc. of Canada.

The fuel cell is being prepared for installation in the bus that can be seen in the background, and the men working on it give a good idea of its size. You can probably see that the fuel cell is in two halves, and that there is some complicated pipework feeding gases to the cells. Between the two halves is the electric motor (which connects to the drive shaft) and other control equipment.

You should also be able to see some cylindrical tanks in the roof of the bus. These are used to store the hydrogen at high pressure. Normally they cannot be seen, as they will be covered by a hatch cover.

See the separate page on the different types of fuel cell for further details of solid polymer fuel cells.

 

Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell

The picture below shows a 200 kW power plant as manufactured by the ONSI corporation in the USA. It runs off methane (natural gas), and as well as 200 kW of electrical power it also produces about 200kW of heat energy in the form of a continuous supply of very hot water.

The unit shown is 10 feet, by 10 feet by 18 feet. It is large because as well as the fuel cell it also contains the equipment for "reforming" the natural gas (methane) into hydrogen, and the electrical circuits for converting the DC power generated by the fuel cell into the AC power needed by the mains.

This fuel cell is used in Combined Heat and Power systems. It is an ideal power source for CHP because it is virtually silent and converts a high proportion of the gas energy into electricity. The overall efficiency is about 80%. 40% of the input energy is converted to electricity, 40% to useful heat, and 20% is lost.

See the separate page on the different types of fuel cell for further details of phosphoric acid fuel cells.

 

Other Pictures

For a superb range of pictures and diagrams illustrating fuel cells you we recommend an excellent new book, "FUEL SYSTEMS EXPLAINED", by J.Larminie and A.Dicks, published by J.Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0471 49026 1. It is available from April 2000 in the UK, and from June in the USA/Canada.