Phosphoric acid fuel cells: Fundamentals and applications

Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC) currently represent one of the fuel cell technologies that have been demonstrated in many countries around the world and for many applications. PAFCs can be purchased, complete with a warranty, maintenance and spare parts service. The first PAFC power plants were installed in the 1970s, and now more than 500 units have been installed all around the world. In the present paper, the principles of PAFC are presented, together with a state of the art. Finally, operational experiences are presented.