Overpotential: Fuel Cells, Futurism, and the Making of a Power Panacea

Matthew Eisler

Published by Rutgers University Press 2012

Overpotential

Fuel Cells, Futurism, and the Making of a Power Panacea

Matthew Eisler

In the series Studies in Modern Science, Technology, and the Environment

https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813551999

Overview
Contents

About this book

It sounds so simple. Just combine oxygen and hydrogen in an electrochemical reaction that produces water and electricity, and you’ll have a clean, efficient power source. But scientists have spent decades—and billions of dollars in government and industry funding—developing the fuel cell. There have been successes and serendipitous discoveries along the way, but engineering a fuel cell that is both durable and affordable has proved extraordinarily difficult.

Overpotential charts the twists and turns in the ongoing quest to create the perfect fuel cell. By exploring the gap between the theory and practice of fuel cell power, Matthew N. Eisler opens a window into broader issues in the history of science, technology, and society after the Second World War, including the sociology of laboratory life, the relationship between academe, industry, and government in developing advanced technologies, the role of technology in environmental and pollution politics, and the rise of utopian discourse in science and engineering.

Author / Editor information

MATTHEW N. EISLER is a historian of science and technology, and is a lecturer at the University of Virgina. His research focuses on the political economy, culture, and discourse of science-based innovation, particularly in the energy and transportation sectors.

Reviews

"In Overpotential, Matthew Eisler demonstrates that historians can and should contribute to the energy debate ... A major strength of the book is that it aims to — and largely does — bridge the gap between the fuel cell as history of technology and as present-day engineering and policy challenge."

— Technology and Culture

"In this extensively researched and detailed book, Eisler provides the 'rest of the story' of fuel cells and fuel cell applications progress in the 20th century. Highly recommended."

— Choice

"Eisler’s book is more than a succinct history of the fuel cell itself. Just as important, it traces the history of the often utopian ideas behind this technology. This well-written and carefully researched study...helps the reader understand why the fuel cell has yet to fulfill its glittering promise. Overpotential provides a useful review of one technology whose various futures so far have failed to arrive."

— Chemical Heritage

"A very fine book. Overpotential unpacks the more complex, and infinitely more interesting, story of the intertwining of technological developments concerning electrical power and the search for new sources of cheap, safe, efficient electricity."

— Quest: The History of Spaceflight

"Joining scholarly analysis with engaging narrative, Eisler exposes the perils of technology policy and reveals how a cult of innovation can trump socially sound energy policy in the United States."

— John M. DeCicco, University of Michigan

"Exaggerated claims made on behalf of new energy conversions are commonly met with uncritical acceptance. Eisler provides a much needed corrective, a well-informed and critical explanation of why fuel cells have not become a miraculous energy source."

— Vaclav Smil, University of Manitoba

"Eisler's historical treatment of the engineering subject matter in Overpotential provides a perspective that is often lacking in the current discourse on fuel cells."

— Frederik Nebeker, author of Dawn of the Electronic Age

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction: Fuel Cell Futurism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Device in Search of a Role Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	18
2. Military Miracle Battery Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	34
3. Fuel Cells and the Final Frontier Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	66
4. Dawn of the Commercial Fuel Cell Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	82
5. Fueling Hydrogen Futurism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
6. Green Automobile Wars Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
7. Electrochemical Millennium Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	184
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	261

Language: English
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 274

eBook

Published: March 22, 2012
ISBN: 9780813551999