Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cell

A protonic ceramic fuel cell, or PCFC, is a fuel cell built around a solid ceramic electrolyte that conducts protons from anode to cathode. It generates electricity by extracting electrons from hydrogen atoms at the anode, pushing the resulting charged hydrogen ions through the ceramic membrane, and recombining them with electrons and oxygen at the cathode, producing water as a byproduct. Most ceramic electrolyte materials, commonly barium zirconate, barium cerate or caesium dihydrogen phosphate, require elevated temperatures of roughly 400 to 700 degrees Celsius for effective proton conductivity, though intermediate and lower temperature alternatives are being researched. Because of their higher operating temperature, PCFCs can run on liquid hydrogen carrier fuels beyond pure hydrogen gas, including ammonia and methane, and have been proposed for heavy duty trucking and for remote power at oil wells.