Top 5 Ways That Fuel Cells Will Impact the Way We Live in the Future

Posted on February 23, 2016

Posted By: Julian Hughes


Around the globe, our relationship to energy has hit a tipping point. Rapidly expanding populations around the globe are putting increased strain on aging grid infrastructure just as the same people turn increasingly mobile with the advent of smartphones. In an industry plagued by uncertainty, if one thing's for sure, it's that the current energy model is not meeting demands.

Enter hydrogen fuel cells. Once considered a space-age fantasy, hydrogen fuel cells ability to meet all of the needs of the energy society has quickly propelled them from fiction to reality. But what does this mean for the way that we live day to day? Here are five top ways in which hydrogen fuel cells can revolutionize daily life.

1. Cleaner Vehicles
Thus far, hydrogen fuel cell power has received the lion's share of attention around fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). Not only are they zero-emission, but they're free from the fluctuations of oil prices that make gas guzzling cars such a financial gamble. The state of California is currently rolling out 48 hydrogen-fuelling stations to better encourage consumer adoption. With the dramatic market acceleration, it's clear FCEVs are not just our future they're also our present.

2. More Reliable Power for Homes and Buildings
Not only do hydrogen fuel cells provide a cleaner, more reliable supply of power to the existing grid, but they're frequently being used in distributed power and generation. Distributed power enabled through hydrogen fuel cells is better suited to power the homes and buildings of the future for an array of reasons: It's more easily accessible, more efficient, more easily implemented and cheaper.

3. A Mobile World
As mobile usage increases, more and more of our daily personal and professional lives will hinge upon charged and operational smartphones. Not only do hydrogen fuel cells make excellent personal external chargers, they've proven viable for the next generation of consumer fuel cell technology that's embedded in the mobile devices themselves. With embedded hydrogen fuel cell technology, charging, as we currently know it will soon be an antiquated annoyance of the past. Not only will this free us from our ties to wall charging, but it will also enable a world of greater mobile connectivity and commerce.

4. Bridging the Gap Between Fossil Fuels and Renewables
Unlike solar and other renewable energy sources, hydrogen fuel cell structures can readily be incorporated into existing fossil fuel-driven infrastructure. Already, U.S. power and utilities companies have begun incorporating fuel cells alongside more traditional means of energy production. It's this interoperability with existing fossil fuel-driven structures that makes hydrogen fuel cell power immediately viable, because rather than having to first completely replace an existing power grid, it can be incorporated as is immediately - while still reducing emissions and increasing reliability.

5. Freedom from the Grid
It's time we envision an entirely new state of affairs. Our relationship with energy no longer has to be a slavish one defined by the grid's demands and limitations. With hydrogen fuel cells, we can not only free ourselves from the grid, but also progress into the next state of energy affairs in which we eventually become independent producers of our own energy. As our global relationship with energy hits a tipping point, hydrogen fuel cells are perfectly poised to meet the increasing demand for a cleaner and more reliable energy source around the world.