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Media Information Press Release of 10 July 2004 Fuel Cells for a Sustainable Future by Ulf Bossel, Ph.D. European Fuel Cell Forum Oberrohrdorf / Switzerland Over the past few years fuel cells have made substantial progress. The results were for all to see at the annual meeting of the European Fuel Cell Forum in Lucerne / Switzerland where fuel cell researchers and developers presented the highlights of their efforts. Portable and stationary fuel cells were on display and some were operated on site. The fuel cell industry, however, is still presenting results of publicly funded projects or venture capital developments since a viable commercial market has not yet emerged. An obvious question is: Why have fuel cells not yet reached the commercialization stage so many years after the 1838 discovery of the effect by Christian Friedrich Schoenbein and the 1845 invention of the first useful fuel cell generator by William R. Grove? It is time to address this concern with honesty. The European Fuel Cell Forum, an independent entity, would like to contribute to this debate. Oil depletion and global warming are compelling reasons for striving towards a sustainable energy future. This implies a rational use of energy as well as an exploitation of renewable energy sources. The energy problem cannot be solved with new energy carriers and/or innovative energy conversion techniques. More clearly, it is not sufficient to replace fossil fuels by hydrogen and internal combustion engines by fuel cells. A more general assessment is needed. All fuel cells convert chemical energy into electricity. However, the world of fuel cells is split with respect to hydrocarbon fuels. While high-temperature fuel cells readily accept natural gas, all low-temperature fuel cells require its conversion into pure hydrogen. The chemical converters are expensive, complex and inefficient. As a consequence, power production from natural gas with low-temperature fuel cells is more expensive than with fuel cells of the molten carbonate or solid oxide variety. This may be the reason why high temperature systems are now leading the market penetration of fuel cells. A few hundred high temperature fuel cells are already in service with natural gas or biofuels. The Swiss company Sulzer Hexis AG is operating 110 residential units in field tests and has a few hundred units on order. In the 250 kW class, the consortium of FuelCell Energy (United States) and MTU CFC Solutions GmbH (Germany) has already put 25 "HotModule" molten carbonate fuel cell generators into service at hospitals, universities and industry. The first unit in Germany has logged over 26,000 hours without noticeable problem and is still going strong. Now and in the future, these high temperature fuel cells will find applications because they are capable of running on available fuels like natural gas or biofuels from digesters. Low-temperature fuel cells, on the other hand, can convert only pure hydrogen. Producing this, however, requires additional equipment and causes parasitic losses. Low-temperature fuel cells would be ideal if hydrogen were available as a logistical fuel much as natural gas is today. Unfortunately, hydrogen must be extracted from natural gas or produced from water by electrolysis, both wasteful energy conversion processes. Furthermore, compression, liquefaction, transportation, storage and transfer of hydrogen are associated with considerable energy penalties. In fact, a "hydrogen economy" cannot be reconciled with the mandate of high overall efficiency of a sustainable energy economy. The conversion of electrical energy from any source into hydrogen energy and its conversion back to electricity with efficient fuel cells provides only one quarter of the original electrical energy for end use, while close to 90% can be delivered by the existing grid. The fundamental laws of physics dictate that the "hydrogen economy" is a wasteful way of exploiting the limited energy supplies, no matter whether this energy is of fossil, nuclear or renewable origin. This raises the question if the world should strive for a "hydrogen economy" to master the transition to a sustainable future. The current paradigm shift in the energy sector is caused primarily by an oil shortage as well as by global warming concerns. Fossil fuels are gradually being replaced by energy from renewable sources. However, with the exception of biomass and the direct use of solar thermal and geothermal heat, renewable energy from the sun, wind, rivers and tides is harvested as electricity. The demise of the fossil fuel age will inevitably result in the demise of steam or gas turbines and internal combustion engines. In future electricity will be available from renewable sources and need not be generated in power plants or fuel cells. In a sustainable energy future, chemical fuels like hydrogen must be derived from electricity. Consequently, electrical energy from the grid will always be cheaper than hydrogen energy at a fuelling station and much less expensive than electricity from hydrogen and fuel cells. Hydrogen energy can never compete with its own energy source. Methane or electricity will always provide energy at lower cost. The sustainable future therefore belongs to electricity. We should aim for an "Electron Economy", not a "Hydrogen Economy". At the Lucerne FUEL CELL FORUM 2004, important aspects of future energy markets were discussed: Commercial production of methane gas from organic residues, methane derived from wood waste, home appliances for electricity storage based on super-capacitor technology, and automobiles powered by compressed air. All of these topics will be important in a sustainable energy future. Consequently, next year’s product-related part of the Lucerne FUEL CELL FORUM 2005 will be called "Fuel Cells for a Sustainable World". One can expect lively debates about the commercial deployment of viable fuel cell technologies. However, potential users of fuel cells should not be disturbed by the controversy surrounding the use of hydrogen. Fuel cells using available fuels like natural gas, biogas or methanol are just around the corner. Please send us a copy of any use made of this text. Thank you!
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