Previous abstract
Next abstract
Session Q05 - Federal Policy Initiatives and Physics Research Aspects of Sustainable Technology
Invited session, Friday morning, March 24, 8:00
Ballroom A6, San Jose Convention Center
Fossil fuel combustion technologies have come a long way from the high emissions and low efficiency which characterized the first generations of power plants and vehicles decades ago. Still, the environmental costs of even today's relatively advanced combustion technologies are unacceptably high. Acid precipitation, poor urban air quality, and the threat of global climate change stay with us, despite our attempts to adapt fossil fuel combustion technologies to increasingly apparent environmental constraints. What is needed (in addition to concerted energy conservation measures) is an energy conversion technology that is inherently clean, efficient, and compatible with renewable energy sources. This talk will describe fuel cell technologies and their prospects for meeting this challenge. First used in the aerospace program in the 1960's, fuel cells are now being developed to provide power in a wide range of applications including large-scale stationary power plants, cogeneration in buildings, and vehicles. Since the study of fuel cells is still a fledgling field, there is considerable scope for basic research to rapidly translate into technological advances, and thereby to inspire practical applications.