Slide 5 The Fuel Cell Electric Power Train  

• The fuel cell was invented by Sir William Grove, a British physicist, in 1839.

• The principle is the reverse of electrolysis, and he used hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity.

• This was developed substantially by F. T. Bacon, a British engineer, in the 1960's.

• It was taken up by GE, and adopted by NASA for the space programme, starting with the Gemini in 1965.

• It has since been taken much further towards automotive requirements by Ballard of Canada.

• Fuel cells bypass the Carnot cycle limit, and could halve fuel consumption compared with ICEs.

• Unlike batteries, fuel cells do not have to carry any oxidant, but like ICEs, use oxygen from the air.

• While charging batteries takes hours, fuel can be transferred in minutes, so the range can be unlimited.

<Back Forward>