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Direct fuel oxidization yields major fuel cell power system simplifications and potential performance advantages, particularly for an automotive power plant application. The system simplification is particularly striking when a direct fuel system is compared to an “indirect” fuel cell system in a vehicle (where the fuel on board must be “reformed” and “cleaned” to provide a hydrogen-rich gas “reformate” for use in the fuel cell system). The inherent complexity, the losses of efficiency, and the emissions associated with the fuel processor required for the indirect system combine to make the comparison to a direct fuel system extremely favorable toward the latter in all important aspects. Although direct fuel oxidation is possible in principle for almost any hydrocarbon or alcohol fuel, at the present time the direct fuel cell system with the highest levels of system fuel efficiency and power density is the direct-hydrogen system.