One of the newest markets being looked at for ethanol use is fuel cells.  Although fuel cells are considered a new technology for vehicles and other applications, they have actually been around for quite awhile.  In fact, the basic configuration and idea for fuel cells was discovered in 1839.  Fuel cells started being used commercially in the 1960s by NASA.  Currently, all big three automobile manufacturers, as well as many foreign auto manufacturers, are developing fuel-cell vehicle prototypes.

Fuel cells work very similarly to batteries except they can run continuously as long as fuel is supplied.  Benefits of fuel cells use in the transportation sector include increased energy efficiency, a tremendous decrease in emissions, less vehicle maintenance and the ability to achieve up to 80 mpg.  Fuel cells create electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen.  They could eventually be used to supply power to homes, vehicles, and small electronic devices.

Two major obstacles in the development of fuel cells for the transportation sector are storing hydrogen onboard a vehicle (it takes up a lot of room) and developing a hydrogen refueling infrastructure.  One way around these obstacles is to create a process to extract hydrogen from already established fuels such as gasoline and ethanol.  Benefits of using ethanol versus other fuels include lower emissions and higher efficiency.

The use of fuel cells could have a profound impact on our consumption of gasoline.  If only 10,000 vehicles were fueled by fuel cells (using a non-petroleum-based fuel, such as ethanol) oil consumption would be decreased by almost 7 million gallons per year.
 

• "Fuel Cells-Green Power"-U.S. Department of Energy, Los Alamos Laboratory
• "Benefits of Fuels Cells"-Fuel Cells 2000
• "Ethanol as a Renewable Fuel Source for Fuel Cells"-Renewable Fuels Association

• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Fuel Cells 2000