As the lights dim in parts of the nation because of an energy shortage, the model for supplying clean and abundant electricity in the 21st century can be found at a Portland sewage plant. Methane collected from decomposing waste provides hydrogen to power a commercial fuel cell that transforms the volatile gas into enough electricity to light more than 100 homes for a year. 19th-century invention Fuel cells were invented in the 19th century. But most Americans had never heard of them until a faulty one blew a hole in Apollo 13 in 1970, scuttling what would have been the third moon landing and nearly costing three astronauts their lives.
Fuel cells remain an essential part of the space program, reliably powering the space shuttle.
As 2001 began, Exxon Mobil planned to join Toyota and General Motors in an alliance to develop environmentally friendly fuel-cell vehicles. ONSI built units the size of a minivan to provide electricity to facilities that were too remote from the main power grid or needed reliable backup power, such as hospitals and resorts. General Electric is in, along with 3M, DuPont, United Technologies. In the 1960s and 1970s, utilities were interested in building big fuel-cell plants capable of producing one to three megawatts as part of a central power supply. And that's attracted a broader range of companies and investors, Rose said.