Alkaline Fuel Cell

An alkaline fuel cell, also called the Bacon fuel cell after its British inventor Francis Thomas Bacon, is one of the most mature fuel cell technologies, consuming hydrogen and pure oxygen to produce electricity, heat and potable drinking water through a reaction in which hydrogen oxidizes at the anode and oxygen reduces at the cathode, with hydroxide ions carrying the charge through an alkaline electrolyte, typically potassium hydroxide. NASA has flown alkaline fuel cells since the mid-1960s, powering both the Apollo missions and the Space Shuttle program, a track record that has proven the technology in demanding environments. Alkaline fuel cells are among the most efficient fuel cells built, with the potential to reach 70 percent efficiency, and because they can use inexpensive catalysts rather than the costly precious metals other fuel cell types require, they are also the cheapest fuel cell type to manufacture. Two main designs exist, a static electrolyte version used in spacecraft and a flowing electrolyte version, differing mainly in how they manage the water the reaction produces.