Page - 46 - in Our Car as Power Plant

46 A fuel cell converts the chemical energy of a fuel, in most cases hydrogen, directly into electricity by means of a chemical reaction, with de-mineralized water and useful heat as the only by-products. Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are not only pollution-free, but they can also have more than two times the efficiency of traditional combustion technologies. There are many types of fuel cells, but they all have the same basic configuration: an anode (negative side), a cathode (positive side) and an electrolyte that allows charges to move between the two sides of the fuel cell. The electrolyte determines the kind of chemical reactions that take place in the fuel cell, the temperature range in the fuel cell and other factors that determine its most suit- able applications. THE FUEL CELL