Abstract
What are the limiting factors in the introduction of PEM fuel cells into mobile power generation? What areas of research are being carried out to address these limitations and which of these do you feel will have the biggest impact in enabling the various types of fuel cells systems? Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells have first been developed in the 1960s by General Electric to be used on their first NASA manned vehicles (Gemini program)[1]. Then different kind of fuel cells has been experimented, for different purposes but they have never been produced in large quantities. Nevertheless, in the last decades, with the new concerns about global warming, green house gases as CO2 and pollution, their development skyrocketed and huge improvements have been made. Indeed fuel cells are a "clean" technology, as no harmful exhaust emissions are produced (the only products are pure water and heat), and the only CO2 emissions would be made when producing electricity to obtain hydrogen [2]. With a renewable energy source to produce electricity, no CO2 at all would be produced. An example with fuel cells vehicle is shown on figure 1.
