There are two forms of energy, kinetic and potential. Kinetic energy is energy of movement and also includes heat energy and light energy.
Chemical energy is a type of potential energy and is the energy that living cells use.
Energy conversions are governed by two Laws of Thermodynamics and these laws must be understood before one can understand how a cell can utilize potential energy. The 1 st Law of Thermodynamics is the law of energy conservation. This means that the total amount of energy in the universe is constant. In an isolated system, energy can be changed from one form to another and transferred from one molecule to another, but energy cannot be created or destroyed . The 2 nd Law of Thermodynamics states that energy conversions reduce the order in the universe.