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Fuel cell technology and research has come a long way since the early days. Fuel cells used to be large, bulky, and expensive to build and maintain. But this new generation is any but big and bulky. In fact, it is now possible to build fuel cells small enough to power nearly any small household appliance.

1. Fuel Cells for Everyday Use

With the development of these new small fuel cells could come a major evolution in portable power sources for small household appliances. Because fuel cells can now be made that are small and lightweight, they can make nearly any small appliance in your house cordless. I′m sure you can easily see the advantages of that!

2. Developing the Small Fuel Cell

While these types of applications were not exactly what the pioneers of fuel cell research had in mind, they are a natural offspring of the desire to make smaller, lighter, and more efficient fuel cell designs. First targetted towards green vehicles, researchers quickly realized that fuel cells could provide more power for a longer period of time than any battery technology currently available. This led to research towards putting fuel cells into cellphones and laptops – both products that use relatively large amounts of power and require a power source that is both small and light, and provides plenty of reserve electricity. A miniature fuell cell fits these requirements perfectly. The energy density obtainable using a liquid fuel source far exceeds even the best batteries in the same amount of space.

3. Marketing to the Consumer

While initially seen as a niche application by most of the small household appliance industry, the growing trend towards cordless technologies in all sorts of applications has led to research into fuel cells aimed at devices larger than portable electronics, but smaller than the cells a vehicle requires. The vacuum cleaner, for example, is a prime candidate for small house appliance fuel cell technology. The benefits of a cordless vacuum cleaner are obvious, but until now, cordless models have had to have much smaller motors than their corded brethren. That 12 amp motor in your corded vacuum would drain current battery technologies dry in short order. But fuel cells, with their much higher energy density, allow for full sized cordless vacuums to be built.

4. Just Around the Corner

With such obvious applications and ever-decreasing costs to manufacture fuel cells, expect to see fuel cell powered versions of many small household appliances in the near future. If the success of the laptop fuel cell is any indication, fuel cells could very well be the next big thing.