Fuel Cells
Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert the energy of a chemical reaction directly into electricity and heat.
Fuel cells are similar in principle to primary batteries except that the fuel and oxidant are stored externally, enabling them to continue operating as long as reactants are supplied.
Fuel cells give the prospect of economic, energy and environmental advantages over existing electricity generation technologies in a wide range of applications. However, there remain technical and non-technical barriers to the successful commercial deployment of all types of fuel cell.
In terms of economic performance, the data available suggests that the technology could become commercially available by 2011, and could yield significant carbon and economic savings.
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