Energy.gov: Top 11 Things You Didn’t Know About Fuel Cells

Zero Emission Bay Area (ZEBA) -- a group of regional transit agencies in Northern California -- operates twelve, zero-emission, fuel cell buses in real-world service throughout the Bay Area’s diverse communities and landscapes. | Photo courtesy of Leslie Eudy, NREL

11. Similar to a battery, a fuel cell is a device that produces electricity through an electrochemical reaction -- a chemical reaction that generates electricity without any combustion. Unlike batteries, fuel cells don’t run down or need recharging. As long as there is a constant source of fuel and oxygen, fuel cells will continue to generate power. Check out the fuel cell animation to learn how fuel cells work.

9. While hydrogen is a common fuel source for fuel cells, it isn’t the only one. Fuel cells can produce electricity using hydrogen-rich fuels, such as biogas, natural gas, propane, methanol and diesel.

8. Fuel cells have the potential to revolutionize the way we power the nation. Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are not only pollution-free -- the only emissions are heat and water as byproducts -- but they also can have more than two times the efficiency of traditional combustion technologies.

4. Fuel cells can be used in a wide range of applications -- not just light-duty transportation. Companies -- such as FedEx, Sysco, Walmart and Coca Cola -- are using fuel cells to power material handling equipment like forklifts, and major telecommunications companies -- such as Sprint and AT&T -- are using them as emergency backup power for cell phone towers all over the country

Full list: http://energy.gov/articles/top-11-things-you-didn-t-know-about-fuel-cells