Fuel cells offer a low emission solution for future energy production
A fuel cell is a device that uses a chemical reaction to generate electricity, the most common of which uses hydrogen and oxygen and produces water as a byproduct. In many ways, fuel cells are like batteries with more vigorous chemical reactions, which means greater production of energy.
The advantage of using fuel cells to produce electricity is that they produce very little or none of the pollution associated with many other forms of electricity generation. They can also be manufactured in a variety of sizes from tiny to gigantic, meaning that they can be used in a variety of applications.
The problem that fuel cells have is that there are currently no efficient ways to produce the hydrogen and oxygen needed for them to function.
Several systems for producing these gasses involve reactions using hydrocarbons—think oil—but these reactions use almost as much energy to produce the gasses as the fuel cells produce, making the process inefficient and impractical. A potential solution to this problem is the use of certain kinds of bacteria and catalysts to degrade hydrocarbons into gasses. Recent research into using bacteria to generate oil and gasoline shows promise for this solution.
Another solution for producing the needed gasses is to use another electricity generation process to hydrolyze water into hydrogen in oxygen, but these processes are also extremely inefficient. One proposed solution to this problem is to use nuclear reactors to generate the electricity to hydrolyze the water, the energy of which would be stored in the hydrogen and oxygen like a battery.
Similar solutions involve using renewable energy sources, such as solar or hydroelectric power, to hydrolyze water. Whichever solutions eventually end up being used, they will have to come into effect before fuel cells become a practical reality, but that reality may be less than a decade away as solutions continue to be developed and implemented.