ABSTRACT
The molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) was initially developed with the intention of operating directly on coal, which has not materialized; the primary fuel for modern MCFCs is either coal-derived gases or more often natural gas. This contrasts with phosphoric acid fuel cells, as discussed in Chapter 6, which prefer natural gas as primary fuel. Despite the initial expectation in the late 1960s and early 1970s that MCFCs would be commercialized a few years, following PAFCs lead in commercialization (hence sometimes referred to as “the second-generation fuel cell,” MCFCs are still under development and have not demonstrated technical maturity and market acceptance. It is a common belief that MCFCs have currently reached the precommercial demonstration stage.
