How did fuel cell technology develop?
Fuel cells were invented in 1839 by Sir William Grove, who initially called the device a gas battery, but were not practically used until 1932 by Francis Bacon, a chemical engineer at Cambridge University. In 1959 Bacon and his associates demonstrated a practical five-kilowatt fuel cell system. That same year, Harry Ihrig of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company demonstrated the first fuel cell vehicle, a 20-horsepower fuel cell-powered tractor. Fuel cells attracted the attention of the American space program, and in the 1960s, NASA began using fuel cells extensively. This led to extensive government research into fuel cells, mainly for the Gemini and Apollo space programs, and they are still used today in the space shuttle program.
