As the world’s resources are being depleted and pollution is increasing, new, cleaner and more efficient sources of energy are increasingly sought. Automobiles are a major concern because of pollutants in their exhaust and rising costs of oil, so alternative fuel sources are being considered. One such alternative being considered is hydrogen. Hydrogen powered cars are just like gasoline cars on the outside and drive the same but the engine is powered by hydrogen gas fuel cell instead of gasoline. This fuel cell produces electricity through a direct electrochemical reaction in which hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) from the air are combined and convert it into electricity, which is a clean alternative to gasoline. The only emission is water vapor, so the carbon dioxide emissions of gasoline powered cars are no longer a factor contributing to pollution. Hydrogen is an easy to find resource that greatly reduces our dependence on foreign and domestic oil. The efficiency of hydrogen powered cars is much greater than gasoline powered cars, partly because its drive system requires no heat or air expansion to operate the engines pistons and crankshaft, which means less energy loss.
Step One
What Does a Hydrogen Car Do? - Hydrogen cars are an alternative automobile design that use hydrogen as the fuel source for driving the car. There are two different designs for using hydrogen in this way. One is to use hydrogen for combustion, in a method similar to the internal combustion engine that powers conventional cars. The other is the hydrogen fuel cell, which is what is commonly meant by "hydroge-powered car."
Step Two
Combustion Hydrogen Design - Paul Dieges patented a design of internal combustion engine that runs on hydrogen in 1970. The Mazda company also developed its own hydrogen-burning engine. However, to date, no commercial vehicle using hydrogen in place of gasoline as a combustion fuel has entered the market. One of the problems with using hydrogen in this way is that it must be kept in a liquid form, which requires substantial cooling. This is generally both impractical and a little unsafe, and also requires constant refrigeration.
Step Three
The Hydrogen Fuel Cell - The hydrogen fuel cell has been around since the 1960s. It works by creating electricity through electrochemical reactions, and differs from batteries in that it consumesa reactant substance. A hydrogen cell uses hydrogen and oxygen, and produces only water as a waste product. The result is very renewable and environmentally-friendly source of power. The problems with these fuel cells is that they are fragile, have problems with freezing, and both the cells and the hydrogen fuel supply are more expensive than their conventional alternatives.