FUEL CELLS—ENERGY FOR A POWER-HUNGRY WORLD - Chemistry: Notable Research and Discoveries - page 160

100 Italian scientist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) in-

vents the battery.

British chemists William Nicholson (1753-1815)
and Sir Anthony Carlisle (1768-1842) discover
electrolysis of water.

1 British scientist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) de-

scribes the scientific principles of electrolysis.

1

Welsh lawyer Sir William Robert Grove (1811-96)
invents a hydrogen fuel cell.

19 Swiss chemist Christian Schönbein (1799-1868)

publishes the first description of a fuel cell.

19 German chemist Ludwig Mond (1839-1909) and

his colleagues experiment with hydrogen cells and
use the modern term fuel cell.

199 British engineer Francis Thomas Bacon demon-

strates the first practical fuel cell.

190s The Apollo missions, the United States manned

space missions that explored the Moon, use fuel
cells to provide electricity to the spaceship as well
as water for the astronauts.

General Electric scientist William Grubb and his
colleagues develop a proton exchange membrane
fuel cell.

19 General Motors, an American manufacturer, pro-

duces a vehicle called the Electrovan that is pro-
pelled by a hydrogen fuel cell, generally considered
the first fuel cell vehicle. Far too expensive for con-
sumer use, the vehicle was not marketed and the
project was discontinued.

191 NASA launches the first space shuttle, which is

equipped with fuel cells.