This chapter will comprehensively review the historic development and present status of fuel cells and batteries, focusing on the use of noble metal-based electrocatalysis and, importantly, incorporating noble metal nanoparticles to enhance performance in applications. This background section traces fuel cells from the early experiments of William Grove in the nineteenth century through improvements by other researchers, such as Ludwig Mond, Carl Langer, and Francis Bacon, to show the growth of fuel cell technology and its possible uses. Then the chapter focuses on the increasing importance of noble metals such as platinum, palladium, gold, silver, and copper, which may also serve as an active material for improving performance in fuel cells and batteries by electrocatalysis. Some special properties of these metals, their high catalytic activity combined with stability, render them irreplaceable while enabling specific key electrochemical reactions; cost and scarcity issues are reviewed. It gives in great detail the incorporation of noble metal nanoparticles like gold, silver, copper, platinum, and palladium, showing how these nanostructures are able to enhance the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells, bring better conductivity and catalytic activity, and act as cost-effective alternatives to the traditional application of noble metals. The chapter also introduces the development of noble metal-based batteries efficiently, declaring their key role in the transition to clean energy systems and giving an overview of the current research and development status. It is evident throughout this chapter just how many noble metal-based electrocatalysis advanced fuel cell and battery technologies, respectively, for meeting increases in clean energy demand associated with the transition to a more sustainable energy future.