I thought this looked familiar…!! I took photos of it while it was still ensconced inside Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center (below). It’s now on display at the California Science Center.
The fuel cell combines oxygen and hydrogen (which were also used separately as rocket propellant) to produce electricity. The only byproducts are pure water and heat, both of which were used on mission. The drinking water would also hydrate the dehydrated food, and excess water production was transferred to the International Space Station, a cheaper way to get water to station than transporting it from Earth.
Each fuel cell produced 7kW continuous power (i.e., could power seventy 100W bulbs). Each shuttle had three of these fuel cells. Two were sufficient for the Orbiter, and the third was a spare and powered the payload too.
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