Fuel Cell Types

A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions.

Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), also known as polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells, are a type of fuel cell being developed mainly for transport applications, as well as for stationary fuel-cell applications and portable fuel-cell applications.

The alkaline fuel cell (AFC), also known as the Bacon fuel cell after its British inventor, Francis Thomas Bacon, is one of the most developed fuel cell technologies.

Direct methanol fuel cells or DMFCs are a subcategory of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells in which methanol is used as the fuel and a special proton-conducting polymer as the membrane (PEM).

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a type of bioelectrochemical fuel cell system also known as micro fuel cell that

Direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFCs) are a subcategory of alkaline fuel cells which are directly fed by sodium borohydride or potassium borohydride as a fuel and either air/oxygen or hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant.

A Direct Carbon Fuel Cell (DCFC) is a fuel cell that uses a carbon rich material as a fuel such as bio-mass or coal.

Solid acid fuel cells (SAFCs) are a class of fuel cells characterized by the use of a solid acid material as the electrolyte.

Reformed methanol fuel cell (RMFC) or indirect methanol fuel cell (IMFC) systems are a subcategory of proton-exchange fuel cells where, the fuel, methanol (CH3OH), is reformed, before being fed into the fuel cell.

High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFC), also known as High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells, are a type of PEM fuel cells which can be operated at temperatures between 120 and 200 °C. HT-PEM fuel cells are used for both stationary and portable applications.

A unitized regenerative fuel cell (URFC) is a fuel cell based on the proton exchange membrane which can do the electrolysis of water in regenerative mode and function in the other mode as a fuel cell recombining oxygen and hydrogen gas to produce electricity.

A solid oxide fuel cell (or SOFC) is an electrochemical conversion device that produces electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel.

Molten-carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) are high-temperature fuel cells that operate at temperatures of 600 °C and above.

Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC) are a type of fuel cell that uses liquid phosphoric acid as an electrolyte.

A regenerative fuel cell or reverse fuel cell (RFC) is a fuel cell run in reverse mode, which consumes electricity and chemical B to produce chemical A. By definition, the process of any fuel cell could be reversed.

Formic acid fuel cells (direct formic acid fuel cells or DFAFCs) are a subcategory of direct liquid-feed fuel cells (DLFCs), in which the liquid fuel is directly oxidized (electrochemically) at the anode instead of reforming to produce hydrogen.

Direct-ethanol fuel cells or DEFCs are a category of fuel cell in which ethanol is fed directly into the cell.

An enzymatic biofuel cell is a specific type of fuel cell that uses enzymes as a catalyst to oxidize its fuel, rather than precious metals.

A protonic ceramic fuel cell (PCFC) is a fuel cell based around a ceramic, solid, electrolyte material as the proton conductor from anode to cathode.

An alkaline anion-exchange membrane fuel cell (AAEMFC), also known as anion-exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs), alkaline membrane fuel cells (AMFCs), hydroxide-exchange membrane fuel cells (HEMFCs), or solid alkaline fuel cells (SAFCs) is a type of alkaline fuel cell that uses an anion-exchange membrane to separate the anode and cathode compartments.

Metal hydride fuel cells are a subclass of alkaline fuel cells that have been under research and development, as well as scaled up successfully in operating systems.

A reversible solid oxide cell (rSOC) is a solid-state electrochemical device that is operated alternatively as a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC).