Benefits of fuel cells

Fuel cells have several advantages over conventional energy conversion technologies:

Efficiency. In a fuel cell, chemical energy of the fuel is converted directly into electrical energy, omitting the intermediate combustion process and mechanical energy transformation which takes place in conventional technologies. Theoretically, it is not possible to produce electricity more efficiently. In conventional power generation, electrical efficiency is around 30%. In fuel cells, electrical efficiency of up to 60-70% is achievable. Further, when excessive heat from the process is used in heating or cooling systems, the efficiency of the whole system can be over 90%.

Environmental friendliness. When hydrogen is used as fuel in the fuel cell, the only "combustion residue" is pure water. Even when hydrocarbon fuels are used, emission of CO2 (the greenhouse gas) is 40-60% smaller than in conventional combustion process. There are practically no emissions of noxious NOx, SOx and solid particles.

Power quality and service reliability. In today's centralized power systems, most of the power supply disturbances occur in transmission lines. Fuel cells are the most suitable technology for distributed power production, thus eliminating problems connected with power transmission. In addition, fuel cells increase service reliability also in a wider sense because hydrogen can be produced not only from fossil hydrocarbon fuels, but also from various renewable sources. This enables many regions and countries to decrease their dependency on imported oil and natural gas.

Consumer friendliness. Fuel cell systems can be installed wherever needed, according to specific needs of customers. Regardless of grid availability, electricity and heat will always be available. Fuel cells can be manufactured in a wide range of sizes, depending on the power output needed. Consumers can choose the most convenient and best available source of hydrogen: fuel cell systems can be flexibly adjusted from one fuel to another. Fuel cell systems are also quiet and require little maintenance as there are practically no moving parts in the system.