For the last hundred years, gasoline powered vehicles have ruled the streets.

The oil industry is a major player in the world marketplace and the health of the environment as a result of car pollution and the United States' dependence on foreign oil remain hot political issues. As of yet no viable alternative has entered the marketplace to attempt and unseat oil's hundred-year monopoly. Fuel cells promise to be the next generation in fuel technology, offering better and more environmentally friendly designs.

Our best opportunity For Fuel Saving Devices is the Fuel Cell

How do Fuel savers Work

Description of a Fuel Cell

The best way to describe a fuel cell is as a battery; both create energy via silent electrochemical reactions. A fuel cell doesn't need recharging and can run indefinitely as long as it gets more fuel. Fuel cell technology has been around since the 1960's but due to its cost and size has only been used on spaceships and more recently as backup generators in places such as hospitals and office buildings.

• Cathode
• Anode
• Electrolyte
• Catalyst

The cathode is the positively charged section of the fuel cell. The cathode has channels that run through it that distribute the oxygen to the surface of the catalyst. The cathode also conducts the electrons back from the external circuit to the catalyst, where they can recombine with the hydrogen ions and oxygen to form water. The anode is the negatively charged section of the fuel cell. It conducts the electrons that are freed from the hydrogen molecules so that they can be used in an external circuit. The anode also had channels running through it that disperse the hydrogen gas equally over the surface of the catalyst. The electrolyte is the proton exchange membrane. This is a specially treated material which usually looks something like ordinary saran plastic wrap. The electrolyte only conducts positively charged ions. There the electrolyte will block electrons which is the basis of how a fuel cell works. The catalyst is a special material that facilitates the reaction of oxygen and hydrogen. It is usually made of platinum powder very thinly coated onto carbon paper or cloth. The catalyst is rough and porous so that the maximum surface area of the platinum can be exposed to the hydrogen or oxygen. The platinum-coated side of the catalyst faces the electrolyte.

All of today's fuel cells create energy using the elements of hydrogen and oxygen. The only difference between different fuel cells is what they use as their electrolyte. An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electrical current in terms of positively and negatively charged ions. Some electrolytes require very hot or cold temperatures and some are smaller while others are larger and more efficient making each type ideal for different uses.

• Proton Exchange Membrane
• Alkaline
• Phosphoric-acid
• Solid Oxide
• Molten
• Carbonate

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells show the most promise for future use in automobiles. They don't require extremely high temperatures to work and compared to the other technologies are cheaper than most. The PEM can work almost instantly and works very efficiently. Car prototypes are already being tested which use a proton exchange membrane as an electrolyte.

Alkaline fuel cells are one of the oldest designs. It has been used in the U.S. space program since the 1960s. The alkaline fuel cell is very expensive and very vulnerable to contamination, which makes it unusable in a lot of instances. The alkaline fuel cell also requires pure hydrogen and oxygen. Because of its cost and other negatives it has never been commercialized and is being phased out of development.

The phosphoric-acid fuel cell has a strong potential for use in small stationary power-generation systems. It operates at a higher temperature than proton exchange membrane fuel cells and therefore has a longer warm-up time. This characteristic makes it unsuitable for use in automobiles.

Solid oxide fuel cells are best suited for large-scale stationary power generators. Their main use could be to provide electricity for factories, hospitals, or even small towns. Solid oxide fuel cells operate at very high temperatures almost 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This high temperature requirement makes reliability a problem. In its problem are some less obvious advantages. The steam produced by the fuel cell can be channeled into turbines to generate more electricity. This can improve the overall efficiency of the energy generation unit.

Molten carbonate fuel cells are similar to solid oxide fuel cells in that their primary use is in large stationary power generators. They operate at a slightly lower temperature, around 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam generated by their use can also be used to generate more power. The lower operating temperature than the solid oxide fuel cell, means that they don't need such high-end materials to operate. This makes the design a little less expensive.

This means a huge amount of money is leaving the US to foreign countries which don't buy a proportional amount of American goods. This disparity is one of the factors in the United States trade deficit. The widespread use of fuel cells in the United States would drastically reduce our need to for foreign oil and therefore keep more US dollars in the United States economy. In addition to measurable benefits to our GDP the effect on our environment would help our economy is less measurable ways. Cleaner, smog-free cities would increase life spans and decrease risks of cancer. Cleaner air and water would mean more natural resources would be available, international tourism would most likely also be positively affected by a cleaner US environment.

As with any large developments or changes in the way the world does business the move to a new technology is never a fast or smooth one and fuel cell technology is no exception.

Although fuel cell research has been going on for many years only recently have revolutionary developments occurred which made the likelihood of a fuel cell powered world a possibility.

Just over a year ago the first fuel cell prototype cars were being tested. With government backing by George W. Bush and increased funding a future with fuel cell powered cars seems more certain than ever. So what do you think?

DO FUEL SAVERS WORK? Our government has already been using this particular technology for some time now. I hope it will be available to the rest of us soon.