Fuel cell targets, achievements and improvement drivers

The present global energy consumption, especially the transportation sector, mostly depends on fossil fuel-based energy sources. Also, the transportation sector, which depends mostly on the internal combustion engine technology, accounts for a considerable proportion of the world's total CO₂ emission. Due to the growing concerns about impending depletion of fossil fuels, environmental pollution and stringent limitations on pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions, there has been increasing attention on alternative clean transport fuels such as hydrogen, and the fuel cell has been identified as a vital technology for the hydrogen economy. Although the fuel cell offers a number of advantages over some other transport alternatives and the technology is mature enough for introduction into the competitive energy market, its price is still too high to achieve widespread commercialization. Promoting the fuel cell as a major energy source for the transportation sector depends on the level of success in research and development activities aimed at achieving increased performance, longer durability and reduced cost. This paper presents a comparison of the various alternative transport energy sources and vehicle technologies, and highlights the edges of the fuel cell. The various performance features and targets of key fuel cell components are discussed. Improvements attained and importance of low cost materials with improved properties for fuel cell components are also discussed.