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Fuel
Cell
Power
Fuel Cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device
that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity. The process
is clean, quiet, and efficient. A byproduct of the process is water,
however, which can be a problem for deployments in a polar environment.
The technology is still in its infancy, but commercial products are
becoming available. Some systems have operated under
controlled
environmental conditions for limited periods of time. Portable systems
are being provided to the military as replacements for rechargable
battery packs.
Fuel cells have been of interest because their fuel is more benign to
the environment that traditional gasoline or
diesel fuel. The hydrogen used for fuel is either provided directly
under pressure or derived from other forms, such as methane. Safety
regulations often set restrictions on the amount of fuel to be stored
or transported.
With water as a major byproduct, there is a major concern for ice
formation in polar environments. Either the use of fuel cells needs to
be restricted to warmer seasons or heaters, driven by backup power
sources, are needed to raise the temperature of the fuel cell high
enough for operation.
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