LANL has also developed advanced fuel cell electrodes that have increased tolerance to impurities that may be present in the fuel stream. These electrodes are currently being evaluated by industry partners for potential licensing. LANL has developed carbon monoxide cleanup technology that was recently integrated with a gasoline fuel processor, developed under a DOE program with Arthur D. Little, and supplied with stacks by Plug Power. Argonne National Laboratory has developed fuel processing technology for ethanol-powered fuel cell systems. This technology was transferred to a DOE program with General Motors Corporation for scale-up and integration into its fuel cell development effort.
Laboratory technology is transferred to the U.S. supply base.
The fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel into usable electricity and heat without combustion as an intermediate step. Fuel cells are similar to batteries in that both produce a DC current by means of an electrochemical process. In both systems, two electrodes, an anode and a cathode, are separated by an electrolyte. The hydrogen ions then travel through the electrolyte to the cathode. Simultaneously, the electrons move through an external circuit to a load and then to the oxygen electrode.