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A number of different types of fuel cells are being developed. The characteristics of each type are very different: operating temperature, available heat, tolerance to thermal cycling, power density, tolerance to fuel impurities, etc. These differences make each technology suitable for particular applications. They are also at very different stages of development. Some have not yet fully emerged from the laboratory.
It is the view of the WFCC that all these technologies could achieve significant market shares in competition with conventional alternatives. That is if they become technically mature on the one hand, and can be produced at costs required to be competitive for their particular application on the other.
Application: *Commercial plant available from: Fuel Cell Type:
- <5MW: 1996: Phosphoric Acid (PAFC)
- Automotive: 2002: Proton Exchange Membrane (PEMFC)
- Commercial and Residential Cogeneration <500kW: 2003: Proton Exchange Membrane (PEMFC)
- Portable/Backup Power: 1999: Proton Exchange Membrane (PEMFC)
- Distributed Power/Cogeneration: +/- 2005: **Molten Carbonate and Solid Oxide (MCFC and SOFC)
- Industrial Cogeneration: +/- 2005: **Molten Carbonate and Solid Oxide (MCFC and SOFC)
- Central Generation: unknown: **Molten Carbonate and Solid Oxide (MCFC and SOFC)
*Commercial availability is defined as series production of complete system after extensive field-testing (>20,000 hours/multiple units) of early production prototypes.
**Practical, full-scale systems have not been fully demonstrated,
projected applications, sizes and availability are therefore speculative.
Source: WFCC analysis.
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