Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Achieving a More Sustainable Future Through Hydrogen Technologies
Today’s renewable energy developers are facing a variety of challenges impacting the marketplace. Wind and solar power are contributing to a more sustainable energy mix, but output is variable due to constantly changing weather conditions. Hydrogen fuel cells are emerging as a viable technology that offers significant energy efficiency and decarbonization advantages across multiple applications and industries.
Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity through an electrochemical reaction, in a similar way to traditional batteries. However, unlike batteries, fuel cells do not need to be periodically recharged and continue to produce electricity when a fuel source is provided.
Fuel cells are already used to power public transport vehicles, with ongoing research into the widespread use of hydrogen. Hydrogen can be transported as a gas via pipelines or in liquid form by ships to its destination where it can be transformed into electricity for usage.
The storage and stability capabilities provided by hydrogen make it an ideal solution for backup power systems and other off-grid and remote applications, such as providing data center resilience and emergency fuel supplies. It also helps address grid-balancing issues where availability is not always well matched to demand.
Configuration of Pure Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems
Fuel cells generate electricity through electrochemical reactions between the stored hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen. The generated electricity and heat can be used as energy.
There are many benefits associated with fuel cells including:
- Total energy efficiency of 95% or more
- Stableand long life due to the adoption of a highly durablecell stack
- Flexible operation by shortening the startup time
Technologies that Support Pure Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems - Cell Stack
Toshiba first began R&D of fuel cells in the 1960s and has made continuous improvements to enhance cell stack viability, the core technology of fuel cell systems. By optimizing the water balance inside the cell, the performance of the fuel cell can be optimized. This achieves the trade-off between humidification of reaction gas and the removal of generated water, without the need for an external humidifier. The resulting benefits include high durability and stability of the cell stack.
