FUEL CELL POWERE&MP59.003 Fuel Cells June 1, 1960 Prototype fuel cell, which produces electric currents directly from chemicals, provides power for racer. Of unusual, simple design, the zinc-oxygen cell will be developed by Exide Industrial Division of the Electric Storage Battery Company first for electric industrial material handling trucks. After testing in rugged, long-shift lifting and hauling operations, the cell might be adopted to automobiles and street trucks. Exide's cell, several times more powerful per cubic foot than any fuel cell yet demonstrated, conceivably could be used in smog-free, nearly silent vehicles as large as conventional ones, with speeds and driving ranges adequate for modern-day needs. Tank at rear end of racer contains oxygen that is admitted under low pressure into the cell where power is produced by oxidizing zinc fuel in potassium hydroxide electrolyte.
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