DIRECT-FUELED FUEL-CELLS

Fuel supply is one important problem to be solved for commercial appli cation of fuel cell technology. Conventional fuel-cell types require h ydrogen as the fuel, which has to be free from impurities when operate d at temperatures below 100 degrees C. The storage and distribution of this explosive and extremely fugitive gas is one of the open question s in the context of a customer-orientated broad commercial market. The direct-fuelled fuel cells (DMFCs) overcome the hydrogen specific rest rictions. They are capable of directly using natural gas or fuels whic h are liquid under ambient conditions. In this paper the different opt ions from direct-fuelled systems are described and their general aspec ts discussed. The state-of-the-art at Siemens in this held, and also t he remaining technical questions are outlined as a basis for assessing future applications.