Fuel Cells

This fact sheet provides an overview of fuel cell technology, detailing its operational mechanisms, various types, and its comparative advantages over internal combustion engines and batteries. It examines the technical and economic barriers to widespread adoption—specifically cost, hydrogen production, and infrastructure—while outlining current applications in portable, stationary, and transportation sectors. The document also analyzes the role of U.S. federal and state policies, including Department of Energy (DOE) initiatives and state-level incentives, in driving the commercialization and deployment of fuel cells.

• Fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen, producing only heat and water as byproducts when pure hydrogen is used. They can also operate on hydrogen-rich fuels like natural gas, methane, ethanol, and methanol, though these result in some carbon pollution, albeit significantly less than combustion engines. When integrated into combined heat and power (CHP) systems, overall energy efficiencies can reach up to 90 percent.
• Compared to batteries and internal combustion engines, fuel cells offer several advantages: they are quieter and more reliable due to a lack of moving parts, have a smaller physical footprint than wind or solar systems, and provide higher energy density. For example, a fuel cell-powered smartphone could remain on standby for one week, compared to 1-2 days for a lithium battery-powered device. Additionally, fuel cell vehicles can be refueled in 3-5 minutes, which is faster than battery recharging.
• The widespread adoption of fuel cells is hindered by four primary technical and economic obstacles: the high cost of materials (particularly platinum in PEM fuel cells), the energy-intensive nature of producing pure hydrogen, the difficulty of storing hydrogen (requiring high-pressure tanks or cryogenic temperatures), and the requirement for high fuel purity. Furthermore, a 'chicken-or-egg' problem exists regarding the lack of fueling infrastructure for vehicles, and there is a lingering social stigma regarding the safety of hydrogen.
• Fuel cell applications are divided into three categories: portable power (consumer electronics and off-grid backup), stationary power (primary or backup power for grids and facilities), and transportation (scooters, buses, trains, and cars). Notable stationary installations include a 14.9-MW facility in the United States (the largest in the U.S. as of December 2013) and a 59-MW facility near Seoul, South Korea, which is the world's largest.
• The global fuel cell market showed significant growth, with sales reaching $2.2 billion in 2014, nearly doubling the $1.3 billion recorded in 2013. The market is projected to reach $3 billion by 2020, driven largely by stationary power generation. North America is a major supplier, shipping over 140 MW of the 180 MW of fuel cells installed in 2014.
• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) aims to make fuel cells cost-competitive by 2020, specifically targeting a cost of $30 to $40 per kilowatt for automotive systems and a cost of less than $4 per gallon gasoline equivalent for renewable hydrogen. As of 2014, DOE initiatives reduced automotive fuel cell costs to $55 per kilowatt and increased the catalyst efficiency of platinum in PEM cells to 6.3 kilowatts per gram, up from 2.8 kilowatts per gram in 2008.
• U.S. state policies promote fuel cells through four main mechanisms: net metering (e.g., in Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island), Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in six states including California and Massachusetts, tax incentives, and direct grants or loans. For instance, California's Self-Generation Incentive Program saw fuel cells represent 24 percent of total installed capacity through 2012.

APA

Laporte, A., & Shook, R. (2015). Fuel Cells. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-fuel-cells

Chicago

Laporte, Amaury, and Rachael Shook. Fuel Cells. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2015. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-fuel-cells.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Laporte |first1=Amaury |last2=Shook |first2=Rachael |title=Fuel Cells |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=5 November 2015 |url=https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-fuel-cells |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{laporte2015fuel, author = {Laporte, Amaury and Shook, Rachael}, title = {{Fuel Cells}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2015}, month = nov, url = {https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-fuel-cells}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }