Fuel Cells
Fuel Cells store Energy Cell Factory output. They can be transported, traded and spent on utility actions and deep-space reward boosts. They are separate from live Energy, construction Credits, and account-wide G.
Produce and store cells
You need Fuel Cell Technology level 1 and active Energy Cell Factory output. The base charging rate is effective factory output divided by 80, then Fuel Cell research and Commerce charging bonuses apply. The factory consumes Deuterium and does not power the live energy grid.
Fuel Cell storage includes a base capacity tied to live-grid energy output, an Energy Cell Factory level component, and research bonuses. Check the selected station's resource display for the current capacity and net charging rate.
A negative energy balance drains cells at 1 cell per 1,000 negative energy per hour. A deficit of 5,000 therefore drains 5 cells per hour. Charging and draining can happen at the same time.
In 3.0.5, a Quantum Datacenter also burns Fuel Cells and Deuterium to earn station Credits. At level 1 and 100% production it consumes 1 Fuel Cell and 10 Deuterium per hour. A shortage of either stops only its station Credit income, not baseline empire income; reserve fuel for your gates and scans before raising its slider.
Spend on station utilities
- Sensor Phalanx: 2 cells to open a scan, with free refreshes for five minutes while that report stays open.
- Jump Gate: 200 cells per activation from the source station, alongside ownership and cooldown requirements.
Utility spending and reward-style fleet boosts share a 500 cell daily cap for your empire. That cap does not limit how many cells you may store, transport or trade.
Boost mission rewards
| Mission | Fuel Cell effect |
|---|---|
| Patrol | Up to 2× debris with 100 cells |
| Trade | Up to 6× the random bonus portion with 100 cells; the base conversion is unchanged |
| Recon | Improves positive outcomes and the separately capped manifest-reveal chance |
| Exploration | Up to 6× resource/ship finds with 500 cells; encounter debris's cell multiplier caps at 2× |
Reward boosts do not increase the size of generated hostile fleets. Research and other mission modifiers still apply. Cargo space limits what can return.
Fuel Cells cannot speed travel or waive Deuterium fuel. All new fleet launches use 100% travel speed after ship and research modifiers. Review the launch quote before spending cells.