Fuel Cells, which function like a battery that never dies, are a potential fuel for power plants for the future. The fuel cells themselves do not produce any CO2 at all, which would help Chapel Hill significantly reduce their CO2 output. However, the fuel for these cells is hydrogen, which must be derived from fossil fuels or water that has been split into hydrogen and oxygen. Nonetheless, the US Department of Energy predicts that using a fossil fuel such as coal or natural gas to produce the hydrogen for fuel cells can significantly decrease CO2 emissions compared with burning those fuels for energy directly. In fact, they predict that using natural gas to produce the hydrogen could reduce CO2 emissions by 60% relative to a conventional coal power plant, and 25% relative to a conventional natural gas power plant. The DOE also points out that this CO2 would be emitted in a form more conducive to capture.

    Although fuel cells are not currently the most viable energy source, they could be within the next 50 years.  In the upcoming years, a switch to hydrogen fuel cells could be an important step in Chapel Hill’s mission of a 60% reduction of carbon emissions.