Fuel cell power plants for transportation applications

Over the past 35 years, the transportation sector has accounted fr approximately 25% of the total gross energy consumption in the United States. As the largest energy user in the United States, transportation accounts for approximately 66% of the country`s current petroleum consumption. Fuel cell power plants using nonpetroleum fuels such as methanol could significantly reduce US dependency on petroleum resources. They offer the additional advantage of minimal air pollution thereby addressing another issue of major concern in the US fuel cell power plant use in city buses and other vehicles is being explored in a number of US Department of Energy and industrial programs that will be described in this paper. 5 refs.