The best known early fuel cell experiments were performed in 1842 by the British physicist and lawyer, Sir William R. Grove (1811-1896). By connecting a hydrogen anode and an oxygen cathode, he produced an electric current with the experimental set-up shown to the right. Grove was most probably the one who built the first real fuel cell, but it was a German scientist, Christian Friedrich Schoenbein (1799-1868), who first discovered the fuel cell effect. Already in January 1839, he reported on current caused by combining hydrogen and oxygen. Grove was at that time also working on the same phenomenon, and they exchanged ideas and developments over the following years. While Schoenebein focused more on the fundamental part of the discovery, Grove was the engineer. The first fuel cell power generator was presented by Grove in 1844/1845, see the figure below. It consisted of 10 cells connected in series and was supplied with hydrogen from corrosion of zinc in acid. Unfortunately for the early introduction of fuel cells, the development of the dynamo technology in 1866 by Werner von Siemens overshadowed the discovery of this promising energy converter.

Wilhelm Ostwald (later a Nobel prize winner) said in 1884: “ The fuel cell is a larger invention for the civilisation than the steam machine and will soon place the Siemens generator in the museum.” In 1905 he and Nernst presented a general theory of fuel cells.

Due to easily accessible and large amounts of oil and the invention of the combustion engine (Carl Friedrich Benz and Gottlieb Daimler), fuel cells were forgotten until the middle of the 20th century. In the US Apollo space programme, fuel cells exhibited their first renaissance in the 1960’s.  On the 21st August 1965, the Gemini 5 was the first space shuttle using a polymer membrane fuel cell to replace the battery. Due to better performance, alkaline fuel cells were used in the Apollo missions and supplied the electric power when the USA landed on the moon in 1969.

AFC for the Apollo missions.

Hindenburg accident 1937.

The first oil crisis in 1973 led to the second renaissance, where especially the interest for large power plants based on high-temperature fuel cells increased. Professor Karl Kordesch at the University of Graz, Austria, was one of the early fuel cell pioneers. He and his co-workers developed an alkaline fuel cell motorbike and a car in the 1970`s. The focus on environmental pollution over the last two to three decades has forced world society to search for cleaner energy technology, and thus fuel cells have experienced an exponential increase in attention. 

Fuel cell development has been slowed down by a fear of hydrogen as a fuel. It is commonly believed that hydrogen is an extremely explosive and dangerous gas. Most of this belief was founded in 1937, when the hydrogen-filled zeppelin “Hindenburg” caught fire and crashed in Lakehurst, USA. 35 of the 97 passengers died in what was commonly thought to be a hydrogen explosion. The real reason for the fire was the explosive paint mixture, a combination of aluminium, iron and oxygen. Most of the people died from jumping out of the zeppelin and not the flames. Unlike most other compounds, hydrogen is lighter than air, so it disperses quickly to a non-explosive mixture when a leak occurs. Hydrogen is non-toxic and less flammable than gasoline.

The focus on environmental and pollution problems over the last decades has made the world search for cleaner energy technology. Together with other renewable sources like photovoltaic, hydro electric and wind power, fuel cells have experienced increasing interest from governments and industry. Concerns about CO₂ emissions and their influence on global warming have especially forced the automotive industry to look for alternatives to replace the internal combustion engine. Several billion dollars is being spent on research and development each year. Prototypes for all kinds of applications have been presented to show the technological and economical feasibility. However, there is still a way to travel before a widespread market introduction of fuel cells is possible. 

Future "Hydrogen society" vision from Statoil, Norway.

Source for the discovery of fuel cells:

"The Birth of the Fuel Cell 1835-1845", Ulf Bossel, The European Fuel Cell Forum, Switzerland, 2000.

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