Using fuel cells in

Generating renewable electricity is an important way to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and many countries are installing wind and solar power plants to help meet targets for cutting CO2. One drawback of these energy sources is their variability: the wind tends to blow intermittently and solar power is only available during the daytime. Hence renewable power plants either have to be over-engineered to take account of this lower capacity factor, or they must be supported by spinning reserve power stations, typically fast-response open-cycle gas turbines which goes against the environmental aims of the , excess renewable energy generated during times of plenty can be stored for use during periods when sufficient electricity is not available. But storing this energy is a difficult task: batteries and similar technologies perform well over short timescales, but over periods of weeks or months a different approach is necessary. Energy storage in the form of hydrogen is one such possibility: excess electricity is fed into an electrolyser to split water into its constituent parts, oxygen and hydrogen.

Fuel Cell Today is the leading authority on information relating to the fuel cell and hydrogen industries. Our reports, analysis, daily news, events calendar and more can be viewed for free online.

Loading..

Tags:

  Using, Fuel, Cells, Fuel cell, Using fuel cells in

Information

Related search queries