At a recent hydrogen fuel cell industry event I spoke with a manager who works for a large food ingredient provider, and he had come to the event to learn about hydrogen fuel cells as well as figure out how his company could use them.

The person was asking a question that many large and small firms around the world are asking, but what struck me about it was that even for a firm with resources to spend on a conversion to hydrogen fuel cellstacksthe task stillseemed daunting.

Ultimately my advice was that hisfirm should start off with a small step, like converting to use fuel cell forklifts. The infrastructure needed for fuel cell forklifts is very similar to that of propane, which would enable it to usea familiar blueprint to conduct the conversion from propane to fuel cells.However, as I continued to think about the conversation the next day it reminded me of the fact that the transformation to using hydrogen fuel cell technology is best done in steps, which is one of the reasons the Fuel Cell Shop offers hydrogen fuel cell stacks ranging from 12-watts all the way up to 120kW.

This is one of the benefits of our H2GP program, because it shows how fuel cells can be used in creating a proof of concept. Students use a 30-watt fuel cell stack in the program, which enables them to build out the needed knowledge base for working with larger systems. By the time students graduate from high school they have a highly functioning knowledge base with which toget jobs in the battery and fuel cell industries. That same small-scale approach can work for large and small firms. Byinitially using a lower wattagefuel cell stack companies can gain the initial familiarity and knowledge with fuel cells, and then asconfidenceand knowledge increase customers can order larger fuel cell stacks that can be integrated intofull-sizeprototype products. Ultimately, it is possible to go from prototypes to commercial products, thanks to our ability to supply 1 or 10,000 fuel cell stacks.

The fuel cell stacks that we offer can be integrated into mobility and stationary applications whether in a city or in a fringe outpost, which enables them to be fused into any project a small or large company may have.The first step is simply picking a manageable but effective area you would like to integrate fuel cells into, buying the needed fuel cell stacks from us, and then completing thatoriginal project. By starting small with hydrogen fuel cells it is possible to decarbonize your entire organization, and as more organizations are able to do that so, too, is the world economy.