Hydrogen fuel cell is a battery that uses hydrogen as a chemical element to store energy. Its basic principle is the reverse reaction of electrolytic water, which provides hydrogen and oxygen to anode and cathode respectively. Hydrogen diffuses outward through the anode, reacts with the electrolyte, releases electrons, and reaches the cathode through external load.
Characteristics of hydrogen fuel cell
1, no pollution
Fuel cells have no pollution to the environment. It is through electrochemical reaction, rather than combustion (gasoline and diesel) or energy storage (battery)-the most typical traditional backup power supply scheme. Combustion will release pollutants, such as COx, nitrogen oxides, SOx gas and dust. As mentioned above, the fuel cell only generates water and heat. If hydrogen is produced by renewable energy sources (photovoltaic panels, wind power generation, etc.). ), the whole cycle is a complete process that does not produce harmful substances.
2, no noise
The fuel cell runs quietly, and the noise is only about 55dB, which is equivalent to the level of normal calls. This makes the fuel cell suitable for indoor installation or outdoor places with limited noise.
3. High efficiency
The power generation efficiency of fuel cells can reach more than 50%, which is determined by the conversion nature of fuel cells. Chemical energy is directly converted into electrical energy without intermediate conversion between thermal energy and mechanical energy (generator).
Development prospect of hydrogen fuel cell
In the future energy architecture characterized by distributed distribution and zero emission, hydrogen energy system and power system will coexist and complement each other to meet the energy needs of transportation, family life and industrial production.
First of all, China already has the basic conditions for the promotion and operation of fuel cell vehicles, not to say that it was impossible to do this ten years ago. Secondly, the maturity of industrialization is not high enough.
If a mass production product needs to be promoted to the whole country, the environmental adaptability of key parts of the whole vehicle is still very high. From this perspective, there are still relatively few jobs in China. For example, Toyota, Honda and General Motors do better in environmental adaptability than in China, so we have problems in this respect.
Thirdly, the problem of power density. This is more serious for passenger cars, but it is not a big problem for commercial vehicles. The development level of a country's automobile industry is mainly measured in passenger cars, so there are certain requirements in terms of power density, which is closely related to industrialization, that is, the stack and auxiliary systems, including other auxiliary components, can be integrated into a small engine, and the investment in this respect cannot rely solely on the support of national governments and institutions.
Finally, there is the issue of cost. Although some people will say that fuel cells will achieve a high level, individuals have to admit that under the current circumstances, fuel vehicles are definitely more expensive than electric vehicles. Generally speaking, including our operating cost is much higher than the cost of electricity, which is the disadvantage of cost.