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Fuel
cells are an important enabling technology for the hydrogen economy
and have the potential to revolutionize the way we power our nation,
offering cleaner, more-efficient alternatives to the combustion of
gasoline and other fossil fuels.
DOE is working closely with its national laboratories, universities, and industry partners to overcome critical technical barriers to fuel cell commercialization. Current R&D is focused on the development of reliable, low-cost, high-performance fuel cell system components for transportation and buildings applications.
Fuel Cells In Use
Fuels cells are a very flexible technology, with a broad range of potential applications from small handheld electronic devices to passenger cars to large electric power plants. Significant challenges to fuel cell commercialization remain, so most fuel cell power systems in use today are part of demonstration programs to evaluate their performance under real-world operating conditions.
Fuel cell applications can be classified into three primary categories:
 | Transportation applications such as passenger cars and buses |
| Stationary applications for powering homes or commercial buildings |
| Portable applications such as cell phones |