Fuel cells, present, future and their impact in the oil industry; Celdas de combustible: presente, futuro y su impacto en la industria petrolera

During the last years it has been shown the necessity in developing new devices to produce more efficient and clean energy. Fuel cells are efficient electrochemical devices that produce electricity with very low emissions. It is expected to use those devices for stationary and road transportation applications and in portable power units for electrical or electronic equipment. In fact, the car makers are doing great efforts to introduce vehicles powered by fuel cells, to the market by years 2003-2004. At the same time, the characteristics of the fuel cells made those devices excellent for produce combine power and heat in stationary applications. In this work, we examine which fuel cell technologies are best suited to which applications. It will also compare the advantages and disadvantages of using fuel cell, the state of the art of fuel cells in different applications and the progress needed for them to become competitive.