Introduction to fuel cells

Abstract Fuel cells (FCs) have been mentioned as an alternative energy technology in which the chemical energy of the fuel is directly converted into electrical energy. Fuel cell technology is progressing gradually with intense researches in the fields of material engineering, nanotechnology, transport phenomena, electrocatalysts engineering, etc., and it is now possible to use these systems in many stationary and portable applications. This chapter consists of four subsections. In the first part, a brief introduction to the history of fuel cells was given. Subsequently, the information on the development of fuel cell technology and the current state of these systems in recent years will be provided in the second part. The third part was dedicated to basic components of fuel cells (on the specialty of PEMFC). The last part was concerned about the basis of direct liquid fuel cells (DLFCs) in which the fuel (alcohols, acids, glycols) is in liquid form.