In essence, the fuel cell creates an electrical current with the electrochemical combination of hydrogen atoms (the source of which can be natural gas, methanol, or petroleum) and oxygen (from the air). A fuel cell developed by Ballard Power Systems in BC is called a "Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell". The fuel cell has no moving parts and uses a fraction of the fuel that a normal motor does. In fact, it is possible to use pure hydrogen in the cell, with the only by-product then the harmless combination of hydrogen and oxygen: Water.
Fuel cells can be used in automobiles, to heat houses, for use in industry (in British Columbia fuel cells have been used to kiln-dry lumber, very important in the forestry sector), and as emergency power sources.