In October of 1959, Harry Karl Ihrig, an engineer for the Allis - Chalmers
Manufacturing Company, demonstrated a 20-horsepower tractor that was the first
vehicle ever powered by a fuel cell.
During the early 1960s, General Electric produced the fuel-cell-based electrical
power system for NASA's Gemini and Apollo space capsules. General Electric used
the principles found in the "Bacon Cell" as the basis of its design. Today, the
Space Shuttle's electricity is provided by fuel cells, and the same fuel cells
provide drinking water for the crew.
NASA decided that using nuclear reactors was too high a risk, and using
batteries or solar power was too bulky to use in space vehicles. NASA has funded
more than 200 research contracts exploring fuel-cell technology, bringing the
technology to a level now viable for the private sector.
The first bus powered by a fuel cell was completed in 1993, and several
fuel-cell cars are now being built in Europe and in the United States. Daimler
Benz and Toyota launched prototype fuel-cell powered cars in 1997.
Maybe the answer to "What's so great about fuel cells?" should be the question
"What's so great about pollution, changing the climate or running out of oil,
natural gas and coal?" As we head into the next millennium, it is time to put
renewable energy and planet-friendly technology at the top of our priorities.
Fuel cells have been around for over 150 years and offer a source of energy that
is inexhaustible, environmentally safe and always available. So why aren't they
being used everywhere already? Until recently, it has been because of the cost.
The cells were too expansive to make. That has now changed.
Austria, Vienna
Fort Collins, Colorado
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Omaha, Nebraska
Blue Mountains, Australia
Lakewood Colorado USA
The Hague, Netherlands
St. Kitts and Nevis, Basseterre
Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou
Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Fujairah, UAE
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