Commercial Prospects
AFCs are the cheapest of fuel cells to manufacture. The catalyst required for the electrodes can be any of a number of different chemicals that are inexpensive compared to those required for other types of fuel cells.
The commercial prospects for AFCs lie largely with the recently developed bi-polar plate version of this technology, considerably superior in performance to earlier mono-plate versions.
The world's first Fuel Cell Ship HYDRA used an AFC system with 6.5 kW net output.
Another recent development is the solid-state alkaline fuel cell, utilizing alkali anion exchange membranes rather than a liquid. This resolves the problem of poisoning and allows the development of alkaline fuel cells capable of running on safer hydrogen-rich carriers such as liquid urea solutions or metal amine complexes.
Read more about this topic: Alkaline Fuel Cell
Famous quotes containing the words commercial and/or prospects:
“It is only by not paying one’s bills that one can hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener. So our prospects brighten on the influx of better thoughts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)