Difference between solar cells and fuel cells?

Answer 1

Solar cells convert light into electricity.
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Fuel cells convert hydrogen into electricity. Except there's another step; there is no source of free hydrogen for fuel cells, so hydrogen must be 'made' by using electricity to separate hydrogen from water.
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This means that fuel cells are not a source of energy - rather they are a means of reclaiming stored energy, much like a battery.
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This is a principal difference. The solar cell provides essentially free energy. The fuel cell does not.

Answer 2

Solar cells convert light into electrical energy. A fuel cell uses hydrogen or hydrogen rich "fuels" to convert hydrogen into electricity, heat and water. A fuel cell requires a steady flow of fuel to operate and is not a battery. Several manufacturers include Plug Power, International Fuel Cells and Ballard. A good resource on fuel cells would be the American Hydrogen Association.

Answer 3

A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. Fuel cells differ from batteries in that they are designed for continuous replenishment of the reactants consumed; they produce electricity from an external supply of fuel and oxidant (typically oxygen or air, although chlorine and chlorine dioxide have also been used among others[1]) as opposed to the limited internal energy storage capacity of a battery. Additionally, while the electrodes within a battery react and change as a battery is charged or discharged, a fuel cell's electrodes are catalytic and relatively stable.
Typical reactants used in a fuel cell are hydrogen on the anode side and oxygen on the cathode side (a hydrogen cell). Usually, reactants flow in and reaction products flow out. The electrolyte remains in the cell. Virtually continuous long-term operation is feasible as long as these flows are maintained.

A solar cell (or a "photovoltaic" cell) is a device that converts photons from the sun (solar light) into electricity. In general, a solar cell that includes both solar and nonsolar sources of light (such as photons from incandescent bulbs) is termed a photovoltaic cell. Fundamentally, the device needs to fulfill only two functions: photogeneration of charge carriers (electrons and holes) in a light-absorbing material, and separation of the charge carriers to a conductive contact that will transmit the electricity. This conversion is called the photovoltaic effect, and the field of research related to solar cells is known as photovoltaics.

Solar cells have many applications. Historically solar cells have been used in situations where electrical power from the grid is unavailable, such as in remote area power systems, Earth orbiting satellites, consumer systems, e.g. handheld calculators or wrist watches, remote radiotelephones and water pumping applications. Recently solar cells are particularly used in assemblies of solar modules (photovoltaic arrays) connected to the electricity grid through an inverter, often in combination with a net metering arrangement.

Solar cells are regarded as one of the key technologies towards a sustainable energy supply.

Answer 4

Q1: Why are utilities more likely to embrace fuel cells?

A: Fuel-based energy conversion devices are a stronger operational and culture fit.
Fuel cells are power plants. They convert fuels (natural gas; hydrogen; propane) into heat and electricity. Fuel cells stacked into megawatt sized moedules can be placed onsite where clients need the energy. They can also be stacked into MW sized ‘power parks’ within suburban or urban neighborhoods. The physical footprint needed to deliver large amounts of energy to customers is a fraction of solar cells. The reliability of fuel-based energy conversion helps utilities reduce risks of power supply disruption if the sun doesn’t shine or batteries do not have enough stored energy to meet peak demand.
Fuel cells are quiet and continue to improve their performace reliability meaning maintenance costs will continue to drop. Their ground-based installation is more technician-friendly than rooftop solar cells.

Q2: Is it now ‘fuel cells’ vs ‘solar’?

A: Take away the emotional appeal of solar cells as the holy grail and we find that molecule-fuel based conversion in fuel cells has more appealing qualities to utilities and their customers.
In this light, fuel cells might be seen as ‘frenemies’ of solar. They will not deter the growth of solar but they might limit its long term upside.
Fuel cells are not the enemy. The enemy is the limitation of photon to electron conversion. Molecules are a market-ready solution.
So let’s look 2020-2030 and imagine a future where the surprise in the utility industry is not solar-layered rooftops but fuel cells used to create vast distributed networks of power parks and isolated commercial and residential energy appliances.

Answer 5

As far as I know, solar cells are the same as solar panels; flat sheets of silicon crystals that collect sunlight and turn it into electricity.

Fuel cells are something entirely different. They are special batteries that use hydrogen or something as a chemical storage medium, which they can convert into electricity (normal batteries work with acids or alkalines).

Answer 6

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Answer 7

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