The world today is challenged with finding options to meet the large and growing energy needs of its expanding population. Diminishing natural resources and environmental and geopolitical concerns have set the stage for a critical energy shortage in the future, one that could very likely be solved by a 19th century technology  –  the fuel cell. This efficient and environmentally friendly technology is truly unique because it has the greatest potential to provide both the electricity to power our homes and businesses and the energy to fuel our automobiles.

The EERC is on the cutting edge of developing fuel cell technology and performs advanced fuel cell systems research, development, and demonstration, combining fuel cells with gasification systems. Several new fuel cell projects position the EERC as a leader in fuel cell energy systems development.

What Is a Fuel Cell?
A fuel cell operates like a "rechargable" battery. However, it does not run down or require charging. It uses hydrogen, the most abundant element in nature, and oxygen in an electrochemical process that generates electricity and heat while emitting only water vapor as a by-product.


How Does It Operate?
A fuel cell consists of two electrodes, an anode and a cathode, separated by an electrolyte, a material that readily conducts charged ions. As hydrogen fuel enters the anode, the electrons are freed from the hydrogen, creating an external electrical circuit. The positively charged hydrogen ions move through the electrolyte to the cathode where they recombine with the hydrogen ions and oxygen molecules from air to form water.

The EERC Addresses Critical Issues
Furthering fuel cell technology development and use will require government support and incentives, as well as partnership efforts among government, industry, and the research community. With a broad range of partners, the EERC is actively engaged in developing fuel cell systems and hydrogen conversion technologies and, for the last 15 years, has been working to address many of these critical issues.

Current Projects

• The development of advanced hydrogen separation technologies that require little energy for operation. The EERC has 10 years of experience in developing and testing hydrogen separation membranes and, through its partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is currently developing a molecular sieve to effectively separate hydrogen from other gases produced in a coal gasification system.
• The integration of biomass power systems with fuel cells that will someday make it feasible for remote farms and businesses to utilize their waste biomass streams to economically produce their own electricity. Using a "whole-systems approach," the EERC, in partnership with Xcel Energy and DOE, is exploring innovative technologies to design affordable power systems that convert biomass like sunflower seed hulls to electricity through fuel cells.

Hydrogen Production
The EERC specializes in developing new technologies that convert fossil fuels and biomass to high-quality hydrogen for fuel cell use. Among the EERC's accomplishments are projects that study:

• The conversion of coal to hydrogen in a high-temperature gasifier for fuel cell use (the transport reactor development unit [TRDU]). The EERC brings more than five decades of coal gasification experience to bear on this technology, which produces a gaseous fuel from a solid fuel. Studies conducted with the EERC's demonstration-scale gasification system in partnership with DOE, Southern Company Services, the Electric Power Research Institute, the North Dakota Lignite Energy Council, and numerous utilities have shown that when coal is gasified, particularly a highly reactive, high-moisture-type lignite, a significant amount of hydrogen is produced. By sequestering the resulting carbon dioxide emissions for other uses or for storage back into the earth and by employing advanced technologies to control other emissions, the country's abundant coal resources could prove an excellent source of hydrogen production in an environmentally safe way with near-zero emissions.
• The efficient and economical conversion of biomass into hydrogen. The EERC is working with industry and the DOE Renewable Energy Development Program to develop proprietary technologies to convert common waste products like wood chips and animal manure to high-quality hydrogen for use in fuel cells.
• The development of new technologies to reform fuels like natural gas to hydrogen efficiently and economically. Through research jointly funded by industry and DOE, the EERC is developing an innovative technology for on-demand generation of high-pressure hydrogen. The process would simplify and reduce costs for on-site production-based filling stations by eliminating the need for hydrogen compression and storage.