Benefits and Disadvantages

Advantages:
More detailed information is available in the applications section, which offers information specific to each industry.

  • High Efficiency- when utilizing co-generation, fuel cells can attain over 80% energy efficiency
  • Good reliability- quality of power provided does not degrade over time.
  • Noise- offers a much more silent and smooth alternative to conventional energy production.
  • Environmentally beneficial- greatly reduces CO2 and harmful pollutant emissions.
  • Size reduction- fuel cells are significantly lighter and more compact

Disadvantages:

  • Expensive to manufacture due the high cost of catalysts (platinum)
  • Lack of infrastructure to support the distribution of hydrogen
  • A lot of the currently available fuel cell technology is in the prototype stage and not yet validated.
  • Hydrogen is expensive to produce and not widely available