FUEL CELLS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN ENERGY SYSTEMS

This chapter provides an overview of the fuel cell system including the basic principles of fuel cell operation, different types of fuel cells, basic fuel cell system architecture, and detailed electrical characteristics and associated power electronics. Different fuel cell technologies are categorized by the nature of the application and the desired fuel source. Stationary fuel cell systems reduce overall energy use and associated emissions when compared with energy systems based on conventional centralized power plants. The steady‐state electrical characteristics of a fuel cell are typically expressed in a polarization curve that relates voltage to current. A complete fuel cell power system requires a balance of plant to manage the power output and to ensure the fuel cell operates under the most efficient and reliable conditions. For fuel cell applications, the input source is DC, so the major components are DC‐DC converters and DC‐AC inverters.