Energy is critical to worldwide operations. Each year, lots of funds are invested in energy related research, as fear of depletion of world’s energy resources grow. Fuel cells are increasingly being considered as the possible solution to the continuously increasing energy problems globally (Science Applications International Corporation 12). Like other applications used globally, pumps consume a lot of fuel and alternative sources of power to hydroelectricity are increasingly being sought for this application. Not only are these alternatives being sought due to energy scarcity but also due to the increasing need to produce environmentally friendly energy production units. Fuel cells are emerging as the ideal solutions that fit these requirements. Coupled with other environmentally friendly energy production techniques like biofuels and renewable energy sources like hydrogen gas, they can produce electricity which is free of pollution effects (Science Applications International Corporation 12). Fuel cells use hydrogen gas and oxygen to produce energy with water as the only biproduct. The resulting power can be effectively used to power pumps. While oxygen gas is readily available, solar power can be used to generate hydrogen gas via an electrolyzer. This paper describes the increased use of hydrogen as a source of renewable energy, the working of a fuel cell, how the system interacts with its internal components and the environment and the working of the system to generate energy for use in water pumping

Energy is critical to worldwide operations. Each year, lots of funds are invested in energy related research, as fear of depletion of world’s energy resources grow. Fuel cells are increasingly being considered as the possible solution to the continuously increasing energy problems globally (Science Applications International Corporation 12). Like other applications used globally, pumps consume a lot of fuel and alternative sources of power to hydroelectricity are increasingly being sought for this application. Not only are these alternatives being sought due to energy scarcity but also due to the increasing need to produce environmentally friendly energy production units. Fuel cells are emerging as the ideal solutions that fit these requirements. Coupled with other environmentally friendly energy production techniques like biofuels and renewable energy sources like hydrogen gas, they can produce electricity which is free of pollution effects (Science Applications International Corporation 12). Fuel cells use hydrogen gas and oxygen to produce energy with water as the only biproduct. The resulting power can be effectively used to power pumps. While oxygen gas is readily available, solar power can be used to generate hydrogen gas via an electrolyzer. This paper describes the increased use of hydrogen as a source of renewable energy, the working of a fuel cell, how the system interacts with its internal components and the environment and the working of the system to generate energy for use in water pumping.