When a fuel cell car stops, in common with an electric car it uses no energy, and even at low speed it has high performance. A car with an internal combustion engine performs best at 80 to 90 kph, while it is extremely inefficient at low speeds. Fuel cells can also use reformed natural gas, alcohols and other hydrocarbons. Several car manufacturers seem to want to aim for methanol or petrol as fuel for the cell because a hydrogen infrastructure is lacking. However, neither methanol nor petrol have zero emissions, and the reformer will require a lot of energy and give a lot poorer power-up time and acceleration than with hydrogen.
Methanol is, moreover, very poisonous.
Other Applications German researchers have made a portable PC with fuel cells and micro-electrolysis tubes, while an American company is developing mobile telephones with fuel cells. Application areas for fuel cells are many. The advantage is low weight and long lifetime. Fuel cells can also be used in stationary powerplants. Westinghouse has developed their own type of SOFC with tube-shaped cells .