Principle of portable hydrogen battery

Why are hydrogen and fuel cell used in portable power systems?

Reasons for the application of hydrogen and fuel cell in portable power systems are given. The fuel-cell energy generation concept has fundamental properties that may improve and complement current portable energy generators, mostly batteries, in many consumer applications.

What is a hydrogen fuel cell?

Hydrogen is a versatile energy car-rier that can be used to power nearly every end-use energy need. The fuel cell — an energy conversion device that can eficiently capture and use the power of hydrogen — is the key to making it happen.

How do hydrogen fuel cells work?

Photo of two hydrogen fuel cells. Fuel cells can provide heat and electricity for buildings and electrical power for vehicles and electronic devices. Fuel cells work like batteries, but they do not run down or need recharging. They produce electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied.

Why do we need hydrogen fuel cells?

Hydrogen fuel cells provide new power generation properties, complementary to those of batteries, that will help to cope with future portable energy requirements, especially for those applications requiring high power and autonomy (stored energy). A second motivation is the increasing environmental concerns over portable electricity consumption.

Are hydrogen fuel cells better than batteries?

By increasing power and autonomy requirements, the use of hydrogen fuel cells, working as open systems with exchange of water and oxygen with the sorroundings, gains interest over batteries due to their high specific capacitance and safety.

What are the applications of integrating hydrogen into power systems?

As hydrogen plays an important role in various applications to store and transfer energy, in this section, four typical applications of integrating hydrogen into power systems are introduced and demonstrated with example projects: energy storage, power-to-gas system, fuel cell co- and tri-generation and vehicular applications. 3.1. Energy storage