The Discoverer

The discovery of the fuel cell effect is attributed to Christian Friedrich Schoenbein, a professor at the University of Basle from 1829 to 1868. In a letter to the English scholar Michael Faraday in the summer of 1838, he mentioned experiments in which an electrolyte generated an electric current without the electrodes being chemically changed, as is usually the case with batteries. In the January 1839 issue of Philosophical Magazine, he reported his experiments of the previous year in which he was able to generate electricity from the electrochemical reactions of hydrogen with oxygen or chlorine on platinum electrodes. He correctly interpreted his observations as a polarization effect. This was the birth of what was later to be called the fuel cell. Schoenbein continued working on his discovery in the following years and refined his theory, which is still correct from today's standpoint.

The Inventor

The Englishman William Robert Grove, a friend of Schoenbein, interpreted the effect in February 1839 as a reversal of electrolysis and recognized its potential for the generation of electrical energy. From 1842 to 1844 Grove worked intensively on the fuel cell, which he called a gas battery at the time. He connected elements in series to increase the electric power. But a practical application was still a long way off.

The Long Road

It took over a hundred years before Schoenbein's discovery and Grove's invention were implemented in practice. In the second half of the 20^th century, fuel cells were built for special applications – among others, for manned space flight. It is generally assumed today that this technology is about to undergo a significant technical and commercial breakthrough, and will revolutionize the stationary and mobile power supply of the 21^st century.