Editing Fuel cell (section)

==History==
[[File:AllByYear-2023-10-24.png|thumb|800x800px|The number of patent families (solid lines) and non-patent publications about different electrochemical powersources by year. Also shown as the magenta line is the inflation-adjusted oil price in US$/liter in linear scale.|center]]
{{Main|Timeline of hydrogen technologies}}
[[File:1839 William Grove Fuel Cell.jpg|thumb|right|Sketch of Sir [[William Robert Grove|William Grove]]'s 1839 fuel cell]]
The first references to [[hydrogen]] fuel cells appeared in 1838. In a letter dated October 1838 but published in the December 1838 edition of ''The London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science'', Welsh physicist and barrister Sir [[William Robert Grove|William Grove]] wrote about the development of his first crude fuel cells. He used a combination of sheet iron, copper, and porcelain plates, and a solution of sulphate of copper and dilute acid.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Grove | first1 = W. R. |title=On a new voltaic combination |journal=The London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science |series= 3rd series | volume = 13 | issue = 84| pages = 430–431 | year=1838 |access-date=2 October 2013 |url=https://archive.org/details/londonedinburghp13lond/page/430/mode/2up | doi=10.1080/14786443808649618}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Grove | first1 = William Robert | year = 1839 | title = On Voltaic Series and the Combination of Gases by Platinum | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1431021| journal = Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science |series= 3rd series | volume = 14 | issue = 86–87| pages = 127–130 | doi=10.1080/14786443908649684}}</ref> In a letter to the same publication written in December 1838 but published in June 1839, German physicist [[Christian Friedrich Schönbein]] discussed the first crude fuel cell that he had invented. His letter discussed the current generated from hydrogen and oxygen dissolved in water.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Schœnbein |title= On the voltaic polarization of certain solid and fluid substances |journal= The London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science |series= 3rd series |volume= 14 |issue = 85 |pages=43–45 |year= 1839 |access-date=2 October 2013 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/53521#page/63/mode/1up |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005022402/http://electrochem.cwru.edu/estir/hist/hist-14-Schoenbein.pdf |archive-date= 5 October 2013 }}</ref> Grove later sketched his design, in 1842, in the same journal. The fuel cell he made used similar materials to today's [[phosphoric acid fuel cell]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Grove | first1 = William Robert | year = 1842 | title = On a Gaseous Voltaic Battery | url = https://zenodo.org/record/1431031| journal = The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science |series=3rd series | volume = 21 | issue = 140| pages = 417–420 | doi=10.1080/14786444208621600}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Larminie |first1=James |last2=Dicks |first2=Andrew |title=Fuel Cell Systems Explained |url=https://87eb298c-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/senthilvssc/Home/fuel-cells/FuelCellSystemsExplained_Second.Edition_Wiley2003_.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7crX_IkVIPQ-acr5K0O8seJelGPHSyLjN0WxCGzldpUgBnBfXrPV2bzNvA7s8HDmRMeqPO5Okjy7ysDnw5-lT1tAidw1fwf8LULLQT98hybocX63JkBhjgIEDl_2v-GLGFkD5YebdMUrHjb-IwiM3okL2sGmqOMGQt514PAYjAiktAv1uHuh4izkW4R8-PjEXMD1lKTf1sH76F8Oy44uV1n2J0gDxtwd_HcLZhrzc86kzjcLfygo_hXPDdwCpI3kvb9gI-gPTMRjFTc-6S1upFRfxcBEMIG5Jn4osQqAgzO2BAseRjw%3D&attredirects=0 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 1932, English engineer [[Francis Thomas Bacon]] successfully developed a 5&nbsp;kW stationary fuel cell.<ref name="BBC"/>  [[NASA]] used the [[alkaline fuel cell]] (AFC), also known as the Bacon fuel cell after its inventor, from the mid-1960s.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |title=The Brits who bolstered the Moon landings |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/the-brits-who-bolstered-the-moon-landings/zfcrscw |access-date=7 August 2019 |agency=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Apollo 11 mission 50 years on: The Cambridge scientist who helped put man on the moon |url=https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/apollo-11-mission-50-years-on-the-cambridge-scientist-who-helped-put-man-on-the-moon-9077166/ |access-date=7 August 2019 |work=Cambridge Independent}}</ref>

In 1955, W. Thomas Grubb, a chemist working for the [[General Electric]] Company (GE), further modified the original fuel cell design by using a sulphonated polystyrene ion-exchange membrane as the electrolyte. Three years later another GE chemist, Leonard Niedrach, devised a way of depositing platinum onto the membrane, which served as a catalyst for the necessary hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions. This became known as the "Grubb-Niedrach fuel cell".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/pem/pem2.htm|title=Fuel Cell Project: PEM Fuel Cells photo #2|website=americanhistory.si.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/pem/pemmain.htm|title=Collecting the History of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells|website=americanhistory.si.edu}}</ref> GE went on to develop this technology with NASA and McDonnell Aircraft, leading to its use during [[Project Gemini]]. This was the first commercial use of a fuel cell. In 1959, a team led by Harry Ihrig built a 15&nbsp;kW fuel cell tractor for [[Allis-Chalmers]], which was demonstrated across the U.S. at state fairs. This system used potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte and [[compressed hydrogen]] and oxygen as the reactants. Later in 1959, Bacon and his colleagues demonstrated a practical five-kilowatt unit capable of powering a welding machine. In the 1960s, [[Pratt & Whitney]] licensed Bacon's U.S. patents for use in the U.S. space program to supply electricity and drinking water (hydrogen and oxygen being readily available from the spacecraft tanks).

[[UTC Power]] was the first company to manufacture and commercialize a large, stationary fuel cell system for use as a [[cogeneration]] power plant in hospitals, universities and large office buildings.<ref>{{cite web|title=The PureCell Model 400 – Product Overview |publisher=UTC Power |url=http://www.utcpower.com/products/purecell400 |access-date=2011-12-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211055124/http://www.utcpower.com/products/purecell400 |archive-date=11 December 2011}}</ref>

In recognition of the fuel cell industry and America's role in fuel cell development, the United States Senate recognized October 8, 2015 as [[National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day]], passing S. RES 217. The date was chosen in recognition of the atomic weight of hydrogen (1.008).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-resolution/217/text |title=S.Res.217 – A resolution designating October 8, 2015, as "National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day" |website=Congress.gov |date= 29 September 2015}}</ref>