In 1839, Sir William Grove, a Welsh scientist and judge, as a result of his experiments on the electrolysis of water, reasoned that hydrogen gas, when mated with oxygen in the presence of a catalyst, would produce electricity. He had developed the theory of the fuel cell.
    It is a great pity that when Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler invented the first automobile some 40 years later, they didn’t invent a fuel cell engine as their first choice instead of the internal combustion engine. In 1889 Ludwig Mond and Charles Langer tried very hard, but failed to develop the first practical fuel cell using air and industrial coal gas. These gentlemen coined the term "fuel cell."
    As it is, the first working fuel cell was developed by engineer Francis Bacon in 1932. However, it was not until 1959 that Bacon was able to demonstrate a practical use for it with a five-kilowatt system capable of powering a welding machine.
    Around that time the newly formed NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) poured research money into fuel cell development which eventually resulted in fuel cells being chosen and used for supplying electricity in the Apollo and Space Shuttle missions.
    Many fuel cell applications have been demonstrated since then, including some that very recently came into everyday use providing backup electricity for hospitals, banks and other power-sensitive facilities.
    Size and cost have been the barriers to adoption for more widespread uses, such as in heating homes and powering cars. Within the next decade, and with innovations such as those being brought about by Dbb in Poway, that may change.