Slipping the Leash: The Impact of Fuel Cell Technology on the MAGTF of the Future

摘要

The application of fuel cell technologies in ground equipment will vastly improve the freedom of action of the MAGTF of the future and thereby increase its lethality. Using its current inventory of fossil fuel burning ground equipment, the MAGTF's operational reach is significantly curtailed. It is forced to move and distribute large amounts of fuel in a format, liquid, that is difficult to transport. This challenge is exacerbated by the limited numbers of fuel storage, transportation, and distribution equipment it possesses. Through a controlled chemical process involving liquid hydrogen, fuel cells produce a tremendous amount of electrical energy. By harnessing this technology in its ground equipment, the MAGTF will realize profound benefits If the Marine Corps vigorously pursues the development of to fuel cell technologies for its ground equipment, it will exponentially improve the freedom of movement of the MAGTF. By looking at the impact fuel cell technology could have on the Marine Corps through the prism of the warfighting functions, it becomes clear that the second and third order effects are, in the main, extremely beneficial. Instead of the operational reach of the MAGTF being dictated by the internal combustion engine, it will be determined by the limitations of the human body.