The year is 2040. We still don’t have flying cars, but as we approach the middle of the first century of the new millennium, the technology available to the average person would make any late 20th century tech-head green with jealousy. The average person now wields such computer power that it makes those antique desktop and laptop computers you used back in the early 2000’s seem like bear skins and stone knives. Yes, we have made great technological strides for our time. Life is good in the 21st century. But, by far the greatest technological and ecological contribution to man was the development of the fuel cell.
It all started way back in the early half of the 19th century when in 1839, Sir William Grove introduced the first fuel cell. Back then, it was largely considered to be no more than a novelty. Later, in the 1970’s amidst a perceived oil shortage, the fuel cell technology was revisited. But the oil ‘shortage’ was short lived and development on the fuel cell waned as a technology that was too expensive to be feasible. But by the 1990’s, interest in fuel cells was rekindled. Partly due to environmental concerns of green house gases being released from the use of fossil fuels, and partly because of the uncontrolled rise of oil and its effects on world economies and state security of the developed nations. By about 2015, it was becoming obvious that the industrialized world was moving away from a hydrocarbon economy to a hydrogen economy, all thanks to the fuel cell.
It started with autos. Due to certain government mandates and demand by the public, the first consumer fuel cells showed up in our cars and were so well received, the only gasoline-powered cars still around here in 2040 are in museums and private collections. With the proliferation of fuel cell technology in cars, their production costs decreased and their durability and energy output increased. This paved the way for the next great advancement in fuel cells, the introduction to the home as a primary power source.
Japan it turned out though, became a pioneer in developing fuel cells for home use. In fact, by 2020, one quarter of all homes in Japan were powered by fuel cells. Advancements in conductive elements and the development of substances like ‘nanomaterials’, oxide crystals that are 1/5000th the width of a human hair, made fuel cells cheap to buy and even cheaper to operate.
Once in our homes, the technology really took off and now our cell phones, computers, digital cameras and other small devices all run on fuel cells. And, the technology has become so inexpensive and easy to operate that developing nations and third world countries around the planet are now beginning to benefit from this renewable and portable power source.
If you would like a good read on the specifics of fuel cell technology from someone of your own time, I would suggest you take a look at this interesting article by Jerry Walch. http://factoidz.com/residential-fuel-cells-an-alternative-power-source/. Cheap power for my car and home, massive reduction in industrial waste from air-born pollutants and portable power for those in need. As I said before, life is good in the 21st century. But I would still like to have a flying car.
