Furukawa Battery, the Tokyo-based supplier of power systems , is commercializing a magnesium fuel cell technology that generates electricity using salt water as an electrolyte.

FORBES: Salt Water Fuel Cells - Coming Soon?

This stack inside a flow battery, where the electrolyte meets the electrodes, looks a lot like a fuel cell.

FORBES

The choice of electrolyte is a critical constraint that drives many of the choices fuel cell developers must make as they pursue more efficient fuel cell technologies.

FORBES: Salt Water Fuel Cells - Coming Soon?

Every fuel cell, which generates electricity by a chemical reaction (as opposed to combustion), has an electrolyte.

FORBES: Salt Water Fuel Cells - Coming Soon?

There are several sorts of fuel cell, but all consist of two electrodes (an anode and a cathode) separated by a material called an electrolyte.

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